


Finding Rhythm

by BringOnThe_Snyazzy



Series: Great at Cop [3]
Category: Epithet Erased (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Backstory, Blood and Violence, Canon Asexual Character, Canon Autistic Character, Cop Adventure, Crime, Detectives, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Justice, Matter of Life and Death, Multi, Parent-Child Relationship, Romance, Team Bonding, Trust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:55:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 89,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25166560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BringOnThe_Snyazzy/pseuds/BringOnThe_Snyazzy
Summary: Together, Percy and Ramsey are kinda Molly's sorta parents. Percy cares for her more than anything in the world and Ramsey just wants to see her happy, so they help her as she adjusts to a new life without the toxicity of her father. However, when the mysterious circumstances surrounding a bank heist test their relationship, they at least know one thing for sure: unconditional love will always be a baseline.
Relationships: Fred "Car Crash" Donaldson & Giovanni Potage, Martin Blyndeff & Molly Blyndeff, Meryl Lockhart & Ramsey Murdoch, Molly Blyndeff & Giovanni Potage, Molly Blyndeff & Percival "Percy" King, Molly Blyndeff & Ramsey Murdoch, Percival "Percy" King & Meryl Lockhart, Percival "Percy" King & Ramsey Murdoch, Percival "Percy" King/Ramsey Murdoch, Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling & Molly Blyndeff
Series: Great at Cop [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1782286
Comments: 164
Kudos: 141





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Obligatory "this is a continuation" warning. So read the last thingies if you haven't if you want.
> 
> But before we begin, huge thanks to CrewSoulReaper! Right after writing the last part in the series, I was kind of in a thought dump and didn’t really have a clear vision for what should happen next. CrewSoulReaper offered some fantastic ideas about some of the next steps the series should take and I think it really improved the story and the relationships between the characters! So thank you again, friendo!!!
> 
> Also, one last thing. I got me a new job, so I won't be able to upload as quickly as I have in the past. :( Oh, how I miss the days that I could literally sit at my computer for seven hours and just type away.

The mugginess of the afternoon was extremely palpable, clinging to every surface. She felt it against her skin and didn’t enjoy the way it made her clothes sticky. In the blinding orange light, the whole city wilted, entire buildings melting away in the furnace. “Do you have all that you need?”

“Yup.”

A pause as she pressed the pedal and slowed to a gentle stop. “Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“Of course.”

The light turned green. “And you—”

Molly grinned widely with a little hop in her seat, her hair bouncing at the movement. “Yes, I remember all the emergency phone numbers in the case of an emergency.”

Percy smiled back, tapping the wheel of the police car. It was quite toasty in there, especially considering that it had been sitting in the summer sun for hours previously. It was a wonder that Molly could bear wearing her hoodie, though it wasn’t surprising since she took it with her everywhere with no exceptions. It was just another of her wonderful little habits that made Percy adore her all the more.

“I hope that I don’t come across as nagging you,” Percy said, taking a left turn. Luckily, the traffic was beginning to thin out.

“Pff, of course not!” Molly replied, dramatically waving off the concern. “You know that I love it when you dote on me!” She placed her hands on her cheeks and batted her eyelashes, making Percy laugh.

“Then dote on you I shall,” she said, unable to hold back her grin. The girl was always so full of vivacity, able to blow life into even the most boring of days. It was indeed quite the contrast from the from the broken girl with the dull eyes all those months ago…

“I just texted to tell him that we’re coming,” Molly said.

“Excellent. I hope that we make it before it melts.”

“I just hope that we make it before _we_ melt!”

“Worry not, for we are almost there.” Not a minute later, Percy had parked the car and leapt out. The outside air was cool by comparison. She glanced up at the apartment complex, the windows reflecting the blare of the sun. There was an excited leap in her stomach at the prospect of seeing Ramsey again and she vigorously patted the sides of her legs. When was the last time they had seen him? Two, maybe three days earlier. Yes, Percy was off work that day so he came over to hang around. That day was more enjoyable than most, what with work and everything. A chance to slow down and actually have fun with her favorite people. It felt like eons ago. Perhaps it wasn’t that long ago in reality, but it always felt like a long time. She knocked on the door.

***

Ink trailed in a thick stream from the brush, forming curvy, glossy strokes. Very satisfying. It had been a long time since Ramsey last used ink. He wasn’t quite sure what he was doing, he had never planned it out or laid down a rough sketch. It was just a chance to let his hand do what it wanted. The first time in a few months, actually. Everything else he had done were commissions.

The curves and dashes were starting to look like a landscape, so he decided to go with that. Cliffs over a stormy sea. Yeah, that was kinda cool. Nothing special, but laying down that ink felt so good. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his phone light up. He smiled after seeing it was a text from Molly.

She had sent a picture of the “Here’s Johnny” scene, but with a party hat badly photoshopped on.

Ramsey snickered. _Wat?_ he texted back.

She only responded by sending the same picture again. Sometimes, he had no idea. This state of confusion also happened semi-frequently on the Discord server with Giovanni, Molly, and all the boys where they communicated almost exclusively in memes. Every once in a while, he had to send a private message to Molly so that she could explain things like what the heck a deep-fried meme was.

Ramsey shrugged and set the phone aside, returning to his piece. It was quite soothing just to let things happen. For the first time in a while, he just felt calm. The silence was pleasing, his heart beat evenly, and the threat of failure wasn’t at his back. Life was serene.

As he dipped his brush in the inkwell, a knock came at his door, making him jump. The jar toppled over with a _thunk_ and ink flowed across his desk. Okay, maybe not so serene. With lightning reflexes, he tossed his sketchbook across the room to safety and caught the stream of ink just as it dripped over the edge of his desk. Then another stream. There was no way he was letting that drip on the carpet. Permanent ink was a nightmare to clean.

“Are you home, Ramsey?” Percy called from outside.

Ink spilled over his desk and splashed on his shorts. Welp. “Uh, yeah, just a second!” Ink began to fill his cupped hands and run down his arms. “Oh shit, _shit_!”

“I brought Molly with me,” Percy called again. He could practically hear her holding back a smirk.

“I, uh, sorry!” Another stream of ink nearly dripped off the desk. “Oh shoot! Dadgummit!” He decided to give up, wiping his hands on his shirt and sitting on the desk. The ink seeped uncomfortably into his shorts, but hey, it wasn’t on the carpet. He sighed, putting his fist to his face. Oh, wait. Now there was ink dripping down his cheek. Once the ink on the desk was adequately absorbed, he walked to the door, opening it with only the clean parts of his fingertips.

“Hello ladies,” he greeted casually, acting as if nothing happened. He bit his cheek as ink trickled down the side of his leg.

Percy bounced on the balls of her feet, a wide grin spread across her face, the afternoon light reflecting off of her badge. Her hair was dyed almost orange by the brilliance of the dying day. She had a plastic bag in one hand and swirled it around slightly.

Molly, with a fist pressed to her mouth, held back laughter. The stars in her hair seemed to glow. “Who the heck says ‘dadgummit’?”

“A man who has to censor himself, kid. Anyway, what’s up with you guys?” he asked, leading them inside.

“I should ask the same,” Percy said, gesturing to the black stains all over his clothes.

“Oh, yeah. That.” He looked down at himself. Yup, that was a lot of ink. “Just an accident. I think I’ll go wash off real quick.”

“That would be excellent because I’m not giving you a hug like that,” Percy said with a smile, taking a handful of paper towels from the kitchen and scrubbing the ink off his cheek. Molly set her backpack down and grabbed some more paper towels, wiping off his desk.

“Heh, thanks guys,” Ramsey said, scooching back to his room and wiping his hands on his shirt again. Very carefully, he grabbed a set of clean clothes and washed off in the bathroom. $10 worth of ink slipped down the drain, never to be seen again. Oh well.

“Ayy, there he is!” Molly announced with finger guns upon his reentrance.

“Yes, it is I,” he said, spreading his arms. “Can we hug now?” When Percy and Molly bounded up to him, he held them tightly. It was these moments that he lived for. He noted that Molly was now as tall as his shoulder, that is, if one counted her hair in her total height. She had certainly grown over the summer, but was still pretty small.

Molly pulled away, taking a carton out of the plastic bag on the counter. “Anyway, we brought ice cream!”

He took the opportunity to hold Percy just a little longer. She held him tighter as well, running her hands across the small of his back. “Eh? What’s the occasion?” he asked.

“You’ll have to guess!” Molly teased.

“Wait, is it your birthday?”

She took three bowls from the cupboard. “No.”

“My birthday?”

Chuckling, she spooned some chocolate ice cream into the bowls. “Nope.”

“And it’s not my birthday, either,” Percy added, pulling away. 

Ramsey was thoroughly confused at that point, taking a seat next to Molly at the table. He hoped he wasn’t forgetting something important. “Geez, did they move Christmas to late August?”

“Permission to tell him now?” Percy asked, putting her hands on his shoulders.

Molly nodded as she began to stir her ice cream.

“Okay!” Percy gave him a gentle but excited little shake. “I’m no longer your parole officer!”

That was good news? “Wait, then who is?” he asked.

Percy sat next to him, taking his hand and shaking her head. “No, that means that you’re not on parole anymore!”

Ramsey felt his mouth drop open and a buzz go through his chest. He almost couldn’t believe it. “Time’s up already? Wait, that means…”

“You’re a free man, my man,” Molly said.

Having no idea what to say, he slowly sucked on a spoonful of ice cream. It tasted so much sweeter. “Wow, uh, just wow. Feels good.”

Percy was absolutely beaming. “That marks six months of being a law-abiding citizen. I’m really proud of you!”

He flushed a little. _Yeah, what an accomplishment_ , he thought sarcastically. But for him, maybe it was. “Ah geez, you’re too kind. Um, do I still get to do police work, then?”

Flapping her hands, she happily turned her attention to her ice cream. “We’ll still call you if we need your services, but now you’ll actually be paid for your time!”

“Nice!” Ramsey hated to admit it, but his mild panic subsided at hearing that. It was actually cool working with the police, something he actually kind of enjoyed, especially when he got to work with Percy on a case.

Percy cocked her head slightly. “Speaking of, I have work to attend to tonight. Someone got the flu, so I volunteered to take his place. Usually, I have a day shift...” She straightened her tie and cleared her throat. “So, I’m sorry to spring this on you, but could you watch Molly tonight?”

He flashed a lazy grin. “Yeah, of course.”

Further guilt crossed Percy’s face. “We were planning on visiting her father today too, so would you be able to take her instead? I’m sorry.”

Uneasiness jolted through Ramsey’s stomach. He always loved to watch Molly, but he’d never been with her to visit her dad before. Actually, he hadn’t been to the prison at all since he’d gotten out himself. He was pretty sure that Percy put him on Mr. Blyndeff’s roster of approved visitors just in case, so he guessed that today would be as good a day as any to finally meet the man. “Aw, c’mon Percy. You know I’m good whenever you need me to help out. I’m always happy to have Molly over.”

Percy slackened, looking relieved. “Thank you.” She took her bowl to the sink and rinsed it out. “Alright, it’s time for me to attend to my duties,” she said, walking to the door. “Don’t have too much ice cream. And remember to go to bed on time. Oh, and do you remember all of the emergency phone numbers in the case of an emergency?”

“Yeah, don’t you worry, Percy,” Molly said with a wave and a grin.

“Okay.” Percy stood in the doorway for a moment as if waiting to see if she remembered anything else, slowly tapping her chin. “Goodbye,” she finally said, leaving.

“See ya!” Molly called. As soon as the door clicked shut, she turned back to Ramsey with a mischievous look in her eyes. “I brought Smash.”

“I have Mountain Dew and mac ‘n’ cheese.”

“Classic blue box?”

“You know, actually I bought the ingredients and frickin’ _made_ some!” He was more proud of it than was probably normal, but hey, he actually cooked and only worried about the stove being left on for two hours instead of the whole day.

Molly pumped her fist. “Awesome! Let’s make a tournament out of it.”

“Sweet. But please, I beg of you, please don’t play Isabelle.”

Molly brought her empty bowl to the sink, casting a devilish grin over her shoulder. “Would you prefer if I unleashed the Puff?”

“Wait—no that’s worse.”

“How about I select random and you can stick with Lucina?”

It was a slight insult, but if it meant he could win even just one match, he’d take it. Ramsey shrugged, then nodded. “That’ll make it more even, I guess.”

“Cool. After we visit my dad, let’s do it!”

He put the ice cream in the freezer and started washing the bowls. “Sounds good. Wait, when’s your bed time again?”

Wincing, Molly bit her lip. “Um… 11:00?”

“Are you _sure_?”

She shrunk away to dry off a bowl, knowing she was caught. “Mm… Okay, you got me. It’s actually 9:30.”

“Yikes.” Interesting, considering she had previously sent memes to the group chat at ungodly hours like two in the morning. Perhaps she just “went to bed” with her phone in hand.

She set down the bowl and turned back with a simper, hands clasped together. “But since this is a special occasion, can we move that back? Just a tad?” No one could say no to those big green eyes.

“How ‘bouts this? If Percy asks, I’ll just say that I _told_ you to go to bed on time.”

“Ramsey, you scoundrel.”

“Hey, we creatures of the night gotta watch out for each other,” he said, finishing the dishes. “Anyway, ready to visit your dad?”

“Yeah!” She cheerfully straightened her jacket and ran for the door, but she seemed tense. Ramsey could understand why. Percy would talk about the girl most of the time, and she had told him that the visits were quite discouraging. Mr. Blyndeff was still isolated in the strange little world in his head and didn’t seem to be aware of it.

The evening air, still warm, brushed their cheeks and traffic marched lazily on. The trees by the bus stop were bright green and carried a sweet scent. “So, you ready for school to start again?” Ramsey asked, giving Molly a friendly nudge.

“I guess so,” she sighed. “It’ll be nice to get out of the house more often, but I’m not looking forward to taking algebra.” She paused to chuckle. “Percy said that she’s going to make me home lunches because it’s cheaper and apologized like it’s a bad thing. I think it’s pretty special, though.”

Ramsey smiled. “Yeah, that sounds about right. I can tell ya, she thinks about you nearly all the time.”

“My dad never bothered with stuff like that. He just let me buy food in the cafeteria, but there were a few weeks every now and then that I couldn’t eat lunch because he forgot to put money in my account.” She shook her head with a dark look coming over her face. “I had to nag and nag him to remember, but he’d always brush it off and then act like it was my fault that I was hungry.”

Feeling a twinge in his chest, he patted her back. “Percy will never let you go hungry.”

She pulled her frown into a bittersweet smile. “No kidding. She always has a meal prepared at eight, twelve, and six o’clock sharp.”

As the bus hauled itself around the corner, grunting and whining, Ramsey laughed. “That’s kinda funny. Before she took you in, she would forget to eat half the time because she was so focused on some investigation.”

“Heh, that sure sounds like her.” Climbing on the bus, they exchanged brief pleasantries with the driver and found a seat. With a lethargic groan, the bus trudged into action. They both sat in a pillowy silence, staring out the window at the buildings rushing by. The whole city resided in blue shadow, but magnificent shades of orange and pink filled the western sky, tinting the tops of the tallest buildings.

“It really is beautiful here,” Ramsey murmured almost to himself. He made a note in his head to paint it. Watercolor, probably.

“Don’t tell me you’re getting all sentimental, old man,” Molly teased.

“Once you’re on the verge of death like me, you’ll start appreciating the little things too.”

“I’m just joking. You’re only ‘old’ when you’re 35.”

“But I’m _34_ ,” he said, folding his arms and shaking his head in an over-dramatic pout.

Molly giggled, probably knowing full well how old he was. “I _meant_ to say 65.”

“You better, you little gremlin,” he said, tapping her shoulder with his knuckles.

She squirmed away with a grin. “Okay, it is!”

“Huh?”

“It’s beautiful, I mean,” she said, setting her gaze back out the window.

Soon enough, the bus stopped by the prison and they stepped off. It was strangely intimidating to be in the prison again and just _feel_ all the memories of his epithet slip away. Ramsey hoped that no one would recognize him. That hope was soon lost when the lady at the front desk gave him a strange look. Welp, he definitely didn’t want to talk to her. If only he didn’t have the most memorable face in all of Sweet Jazz City.

“Do you have any idea what to do?” he whispered.

“Don’t you know the clink like the back of your hand?” she replied.

“I dunno, I’ve never visited anyone before. Or been visited.”

She gave him a sympathetic expression. “Yeah, I know the way. Just down this hall then talk to that lady.”

The lady down there didn’t look too friendly. “Can you talk to her? I don’t wanna talk.” Oh shoot, and there was a guard trailing them from about 10 feet behind. Probably didn’t help that he didn’t look related to Molly in any way.

“Crap, I don’t wanna talk either! Percy was always the one that talked.”

“Ah geez, she’s starin’ at us. Okay, I’ll talk.” Ramsey straightened and tried an awkward smile. The lady looked sternly up, one eyebrow raised. He could feel that guard’s eyes pressing into him. “H—um, hi. We’re here to visit, uh—”

“Martin Blyndeff,” Molly finished.

The guard closed in on them, practically breathing down Ramsey’s neck. “Interesting that you’d be here, Murdoch.”

Ramsey gulped, searching for words, his breathing going faster.

The guard knelt on one knee in front of Molly, pulling her aside. “Is this man harassing you in any way?” he whispered. Didn’t work well because Ramsey heard it loud and clear.

Molly glared and pulled away. “Don’t worry, sir. My legal guardian was unable to accompany me, but he is acting as my chaperone right now. He’s my friend.”

The lady at the desk sighed. “Alright, you’re good to go.” She stood and unlocked a door for them, the guard still staring daggers.

“Man, I hate prison,” Ramsey groaned once they were out of earshot.

“Me too.” The visitation area was made up of neat booths lining the walls, each one equipped with a phone and a stool. Each feeling just as restrictive as a cell. After waiting for a few minutes, Martin appeared in one of the booths with an air-headed wave. Molly jumped on the stool and picked up the phone, Ramsey standing behind her. “Hi, dad,” she said, her tone upbeat.

“Hiya, buttercup! Looks like you’re here to visit dear ol’ dad again!”

Molly had an exasperated, but endeared smile. “That’s the only reason why I would be in a prison, dad.”

“It’s nice to have a change of pace,” he said, holding the phone between his cheek and shoulder. “They’ve got me taking a life skills class AND a parenting class. You just won’t believe how much _haaard_ _wooork_ it is! I’m exhausted even thinking about it!”

Ramsey held back a pleased grin knowing that the man’s “hardships” were a result of the implementation of Percy’s proposal for prison reform. It had taken a few months, but it finally worked and Percy could finally get a full 8 hours of sleep every night. That whole project had been working her to the grave. Once it gained sufficient financial backing, she was able to pass it on to the proper authorities and continue with her normal police duties.

“I think it’s gonna help you, dad.”

“Oh, but buttercup! They _reeeally_ gotta cut me some slack. With all the stress, I’m gonna get sick, I swear!” He shifted the phone to his hand, combing the other one through his hair. “I’ll be gray before I’m 45.”

Molly rubbed the side of her face. “What else are you going to do, dad?”

Martin held his tongue between his teeth, looking like a child daydreaming about candy. “I just wanna sleep all day and play cards all night! Oooh, I really miss playing games on my phone!”

“Well, I think if you work hard and pay attention in your classes, it might be really rewarding,” she said with a shrug, searching the man’s face.

Putting a hand to his star-studded beard, he tilted his head side to side. “Hmmm… hmmm… Okay, I’ll give it a go, just for you, buttercup!”

Molly’s face lit up. “Really?”

“Yes, really darling.”

“Alright, I’ll hold you to it!” Molly shot an ecstatic look at Ramsey.

“Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Martin said, “but who’s that scary lookin’ feller?”

Yup. It would be superfluous to say that he got that a lot.

“That’s Ramsey, dad. I’ve told you about him. You know, family friend?”

Martin squinted with his mouth twisted in a clueless scowl. “Hm, really? I don’t remember him at all.”

“No, not our family,” she said, waving a hand, “Percy’s family.”

“Wait, who’s that?”

“Dad!”

“Oh yeah, the cop lady. She never _did_ let me hold her cool sword.” He rested his elbows on the counter and held his cheek. “Anyway, what’s new with you, buttercup?”

Molly froze, fumbling with what to say for a moment. Then, it all came out in a heap, the words cascading from her mouth. “I’ve been hanging out with Giovanni and Fred a lot lately! You probably don’t remember them, but I’ve told you about them a few times. We went to the water park last week! I also helped Sylvie redecorate his office! He’s the therapist. And then I beat Breath of the Wild and it’s such a good game! It’s a Zelda game, if you don’t remember. Oh, and I drew some cartoons and Ramsey said that they were good, and he’s an artist, so it made me really happy! Also, Percy took me to the movies and we also went shopping for clothes for the new school year! I got a skirt and a t-shirt from the boys’ section ‘cause it had a bear and I thought it was cool.”

“Oh _wooow_ , isn’t that something!” Martin said airily.

“Thanks, dad,” Molly said, happily swinging her legs. “Well, it looks like our time is up. See you later, dad.”

“Catch ya later, buttercup!” With that, Martin waved and toddled away.

“Sure thing, dad.” Molly didn’t move for a moment. Ramsey almost said something, but she soon set the phone down. Deflated, she slumped off the stool and stared at the floor tiles.

“Are you alright there?” Ramsey asked.

She stared forward, her lip trembling and eyes glassy with tears.

“Hey, it’s okay, sweetheart,” he said, taking her hand and leading her out of the visitation area. He felt bitterness rise in his throat as well.

She nodded blankly and sniffed. As they walked through the front lobby, she pulled her hood on and turned away from any guards. By the time they were outside, she had already buried her sorrows and straightened. It seemed more like self-defense than anything else.

Molly finally spoke, her voice wavering. “That’s the first time he asked me how I was doing.”

Wow. That struck Ramsey in the chest, but he tried to lighten up. “That’s great. Must mean he’s improving.”

“Yeah, it really does,” she said, disguising her weakening voice with laughter.

He wanted to let her know that she could be open and divulge her concerns with other people, but it didn’t seem like the right time. Yeah, that was rich coming from him, but he learned his lesson about bottling things up.

The bus wouldn’t arrive for another 10 minutes, so they idly walked in circles around the stop while they waited. “What movie did you see with Percy?” he asked.

“Apparently, she’s a horror movie junkie, so we watched that new one about the creepy doll.” She giggled, hopping over a crack in the sidewalk. “That’s not something I would normally watch, but it was pretty fun. The whole audience was really into it, gasping dramatically and stuff. And Percy would grab my arm at the jump scares. Then afterward, we complained about how stupid it was and then talked about the architecture and interior design for hours.”

Ramsey balanced on the curb. “Nice. Are you the type to squeal?”

“No, but Percy sure is. She really gets absorbed in the movie magic. I nearly jumped out of my socks at the end, though.”

When the bus finally came around again, it was empty except for them. “Are you ready for a Smash tournament, kiddo?” Ramsey asked with an accompanying pair of finger guns.

Molly returned fire. “Sure thing, da—d—d—du—dude!” She immediately turned bright red and stared into the grand abyss, her lips becoming a thin line. Was her mind imploding?

Ramsey almost burst out laughing, but figured that might come across as mean, so he silently let his heart melt. What a precious kid. “Hey, you can call me whatever you want, whether it be ‘dude’ or, you know, whatever else that strikes your fancy.”

“I—I…” she squeaked. She clapped her hands to her cheeks and a barely audible, high-pitched screech rose. “Okay, I’m so sorry and I did _not_ mean to say that!”

“Hey, it’s fine,” Ramsey assured with a chuckle.

She laughed hysterically as her face grew redder. “Okay, it’s just that it’s kinda weird calling people, um, _that,_ who aren’t my real parents.”

Ramsey recalled a conversation with Percy where she described a time that Molly had accidentally called her “mom” and reacted with comparable embarrassment. Percy had actually been quite excited about it, but didn’t want to make it seem like she was replacing Molly’s late mother. She was always worried about unknowingly crossing a line.

“You don’t have to feel weird about it,” he said. “Just do what feels comfortable.”

Molly scrubbed at her cheeks with the sleeves of her jacket, an awkward grin spreading across her face. “I don’t know what’s comfortable anymore. You guys are kinda like friends, or, uh, like a teacher or coach that’s taken over the parental roll in my life, but, you know, my parents aren’t you, but you’re my parents, but my dad’s still there—It’s just hard to explain.”

Ramsey held up a fist. “Eh, you don’t have to explain. We get it.”

Molly bumped her fist to his, finally leaning back in her seat and cooling off.

A moment later, Ramsey noticed his phone buzzing in his pocket. “Huh, it’s Percy.” When he answered it, a crackling sound made him immediately whip it away from his ear.

Molly winced. “Yeesh, that’s some cronchy audio.”

“Uh, what’s up, Percy?” he asked, holding the phone tentatively to his ear.

A voice about three octaves lower than Percy’s made him jump. “The ceiling of the bank,” the buttery voice responded.

“Wha—who the hell are you?”

“My, looks like we need to stick a bar of soap in your mouth, conman.”

Ramsey rolled his eyes. “Well, I was kinda expecting the melodic voice of a lovely woman.”

“It’s just Sergeant Eros borrowing Percy’s phone. See? She’s right here.” A few crackles.

“Hello,” Percy jumped in.

Ramsey held the phone away to release an exasperated sigh, then held it up to his ear again. “Whaddya want?”

“Well,” Eros began, “we have a bit of a situation at the bank. Oh how I hate to impose, but we could admittedly use your unique skill set.”

Ramsey shared a glance with Molly. There went their tournament. “I dunno, I’m kinda taking care of a kid right now?”

“It’s alright, it’s safe enough that you can bring her along,” Percy said. “We really could benefit from your expertise.” Her exhausted tone was worrying.

“Okay,” Ramsey sighed. “Where are we going?”

“Did you not hear me?” Eros asked. “The bank.”

“Yeah, but _which_ _one_?” Ramsey said between clenched teeth.

“The big fancy one on Center Avenue. Central Trust bank.”

“Right, I’ll be there.” Glad to hang up, he shoved the phone in his pocket. “Asshole,” he hissed under his breath.

“Percy has a bar of soap if you don’t,” Molly said.

He put a fist to his forehead. “Maybe I’ll just glue my teeth together so that no one ever has to hear me swear again.”

“Well damn, that’s a bit extra!”

“Wha—hey!”

***

Bonus: A little adventure from the Discord server.

_imatthesoupstore:_ @ramsey-chan

_ramsey-chan:_ wut

wait who changed my tag

_imatthesoupstore:_ haha, long story

_rams:_ giovanni you filthy weeb. welp, time to change my password again

_imatthesoupstore:_ anyway, wanna join us on the voice chat tonight? The boys are playing Minecraft.

_rams:_ but I don’t have Minecraft

or a computer

or a gaming system

_iLOVEsoup:_ F

_Let'sSplitUpGang!:_ F

_bigBen:_ F

_Nebulous:_ F

_UnbearablyBear:_ F

_imatthesoupstore:_ yeah but we always feel one boy short without you

_rams:_ ah geez

I’ll be there


	2. Chapter 2

Percy slipped the phone back in her pocket, looking at the bank around her. What a beautiful mess. Well, that is to say, the mess was happening in a beautiful building. A large lobby stretched out around them, pale quartz floors reflecting the blue and red police lights outside. Mahogany desks with matching partitions lined the walls and directly in front of her, a green marble front desk with gold accents stood stately and dignified. This wasn’t just a bank, it was a palace housing the most high-profile business transactions in all of Sweet Jazz City. The bank owner, Burtram Hobbs, kept a very high and precise standard for any business done within those halls.

As such, it had the highest security of any bank in town, perhaps even in that whole region. Armored trucks, high-tech security system, military grade encryption, the whole shabang. And they had just lost one million dollars in hard cash.

They closed up early and locked up tight, the consultants nervously pacing and the tellers searching frantically. It all began a few hours earlier when a teller reported a fake $100 bill. It didn’t have the strip of UV ink that it would normally have had. Of course, this led to a few raised eyebrows as they had just received a new shipment of cash that morning. Upon further inspection, they found more counterfeit cash, but not just a few more bills. Cases and cases of bills. The entirety of their shipment had been replaced with fake money and the perpetrator had vanished without a trace.

Percy’s shift began with an urgent call to Central Trust bank to get the investigation underway. Searching the cases brought up no evidence. The security cameras betrayed no wrong doings. The people that had driven the shipment in were being located for questioning. Other than that, the investigation had brought up no further leads, so it was time to call in some help. Ramsey has briefly crossed her mind, but she didn’t want to interrupt their night of gaming they had probably planned. However, when Eros suggested calling in “conman,” she decided it would be a good time to do so.

Meryl pushed up her glasses, whispering the few facts of the case to herself and nervously pacing in circles. After a moment, she looked up. “What do you think conman will have to offer?”

“He has a name, you know,” Percy replied, looking over a case of fake bills.

“But Eros calls him conman.”

“Well, he’s Eros. But anyway, Ramsey knows how counterfeit is made, so he might give us lead if he can identify the materials or process. The way it is, we’re not getting a lead until we question the drivers.”

“True,” Meryl said, nudging a case with her foot. “He kinda scares me, though.”

“But Meryl, everything scares you.”

She leaned in next to Percy, lowering her voice to a whisper. “But he  _ really  _ scares me. I mean, you can’t trust those weirdos with missing eyes.” She snickered at Percy’s look of incredulity.

“But  _ Meryl _ !”

Another officer ran up to tell the sergeant something and then left as fast as he came. Eros nodded slowly, stroking his mustache. “Well, ladies, we’ve finally got the names and addresses of those drivers from employment records. That was a nightmare in and of itself since no one knew who drove today. We’ve got officers hunting them down now.”

Meryl returned to a serious expression. “Hopefully an interrogation will turn up something useful. I mean,  _ something  _ must have happened over the drive. That has to be the most likely.”

Hearing steps behind her, Percy turned to see Ramsey and Molly walking timidly over, shrinking away from any other cops. Feeling her heart leap, she ran up to them with a smile. It was wonderful to see them again, although they had only parted an hour or two earlier. And they were at a crime scene. That was unfortunate. “Hi,” Percy said. “We’re in a bit of a pickle. Oh, and how did your visit go?”

Molly greeted her with a quick hug and a beam across her face. “It actually went good! He finally asked me how I was doing!”

Tension released in Percy’s chest that she didn’t know was there. Could that mean that the classes were working? “Really? That’s excellent!”

The moment was interrupted when Eros strode up to Ramsey, shoving a fistful of cash in his hands.

Raising an eyebrow, Ramsey isolated one bill from the wad. “I hope this ain’t the money you’re paying me with because it’s all fake.”

“Oh yeah, we have to pay you now…” Eros mused.

“Wait, how could you tell so quickly?” Meryl asked, stepping cautiously to his side. She came as close as she dared to look at the money in his hands.

Ramsey held the bill up to the light. “They’re all uniformly blurred at the borders and the watermark is too opaque. Doesn’t have the right texture. Feels too crisp.”

Percy couldn’t help but admire how observant he was. “Do you know how it might have been made?” she asked, subduing her smile.

“Whoever did this had access to a good printer, like a printing press level one. I can imagine they had big rolls of paper, ran it through the printer, then cut it. Some of these aren’t cut perfectly even.” He rubbed the surface of a bill, looking closely. “They probably used an ink pad and stamp for the watermark after the fact and… I guess they just used a glitter pen for the color shifting number in the corner. Pretty convincing. Would’ve taken at least a full week of work if all those cases are counterfeit.”

“I suppose that adds an item to our whodunnit checklist,” Eros muttered, jotting something down on a notepad.

“There’s a big print shop just down the street from here,” Meryl added, straightening her jacket. “It’s one of two in town that would fit our criteria, but it’s close by, making it more likely to be related to our case. We should take a look at their equipment and ask some questions.”

“Excelente. Y’all can do that and I’ll hold down the fort here. Divide and conquer,” Eros said, scribbling a few more things across his notepad.

Meryl held out a fist to Percy. “Alright, you ‘n’ me, Perc’! Let’s do it.”

Percy returned the fist bump without hesitation this time. It was a small show of camaraderie Meryl had started performing only a few weeks prior. At first, it caught Percy off-guard and she had to recall what to do every time the gesture was made, but she was starting to get it down. “Can Ramsey and Molly come?” Percy aked, checking that her sword was in place.

Meryl slumped. “Oh,  _ okaaay _ . They can tag along, I guess.” Percy knew that she held a deep disdain for Ramsey considering his criminal record, but she hoped that they could get along anyway. At least they treated each other cordially enough. But she seemed to take quite a liking to Molly, especially considering that was all Percy could talk about at work. She wondered if she bored her coworkers by doing so, but Meryl always engaged in whatever topic of conversation Percy brought up. It made her feel… really good.

“Ah geez,” Ramsey muttered, taking out a pack of gum.

Molly immediately sidled up to him. “Ooh, can I have one?”

“Sure.”

“Oi conman! Hit me up, will ya?” Eros called from across the room.

Ramsey rolled his eyes and chucked a stick at the sergeant.

“Me too, please!” Meryl said.

Once he tossed a stick to her, he shoved the box back in his pocket. “Yup, everyone wants to be conman’s friend as soon as he pulls out the gum.”

Percy walked beside him as they left the magnificence of the bank. “I’ll be your friend without gum.” A slight chill from the outside made her shiver. It was getting darker, the street lamps and traffic lighting up the night. Hopefully, they wouldn’t be out too far past Molly’s bed time.

“That warms my blackened heart,” he said with a chuckle.

Meryl put a hand to her forehead with a sigh and walked ahead of them.

“So anyway,” Ramsey said, trying to ignore Meryl’s annoyance, “what’s up with the investigation?”

Percy frowned at the sidewalk. “Someone has replaced one million dollars with counterfeit and we have no leads so far.”

“Woah, that’s a lot,” Molly said.

“Yeah, seriously a lot,” Ramsey muttered. “That’s actually impressive. I’m gonna change my estimate to a week and a half of work.”

“Since we weren’t able to find anything at the bank, we assume that it was switched out before the shipment arrived. The truck they used is across town in a parking garage, so we have officers on that. We’re also looking for the drivers and when we determine the route they used, we’ll take a look at traffic cam footage.” Percy fell silent, walking through the possibilities in her head. It could have been the drivers since they had direct access to the cash over the shipment process. However, it seemed risky for a driver to do it because they could be easily traced back to the crime. She tapped the hilt of her sword.

Her gut feeling was that it had to be someone outside of the company. With Central Trust’s over-the-top security, it would be quite risky for it to be an inside job. However, the person or people responsible must have had detailed knowledge of the processes the bank went through, so they couldn’t be completely unrelated. Perhaps a businessman that frequently used the bank? No, that would be sabotaging the institution that held their company’s investments. But if a businessman wanted to get some quick cash, they could have withdrawn everything before the heist. She made a note to check on any large withdrawals within perhaps a few months of the heist.

But if it was done out of spite instead of personal gain? They’d have to examine each one of the bank owner’s connections. Mr. Hobbs, to say the least, was a controversial business figure with technically legal but questionable ethics, so it did seem likely that it could have been to send a public message.

Ramsey grabbed her shoulder just before she walked into the glass doors of the print shop. “Usually you open doors first,” Molly said with a laugh.

Percy looked at the business inside. There were only a few employees tidying up and the sign on the door showed that they were closed. The words “Bengal Prints” were plastered across the double doors in orange and black. “Sorry, I suppose I was lost in thought.”

“We could tell,” Molly said, looking inside. Her face fell. “I hate to bother them just when they’re closing up.” The girl certainly carried a certain type of empathy that only comes from years of retail experience.

“They’ll survive.” Meryl tapped on the door and flashed her badge.

The employees scrambled around in confusion until they found their manager. The manager, a woman that didn’t look too pleased with anything, reluctantly unlocked the door and swung it open to show her annoyance.

“Hello, ma’am,” Meryl greeted as she strolled in. “We have reason to believe that criminal activities have taken place in this fine establishment. We’ll need to conduct a quick search and ask a few questions.” She shrunk and flashed an apologetic smile at the manager’s scowl.

“We’re so sorry for the inconvenience,” Molly said with clasped hands.

The manager only replied with a slight nod. Her incredibly long brown hair was sparsely streaked with gray and there were faint indications of lines in her face emphasized by her continuous glare. She looked like she could have been an actress.

“Okay, how do you wanna do this?” Meryl whispered to Percy.

Staring at the back rooms, Percy lowered her voice as well. “I’ll take Ramsey to the back to investigate their equipment and see if we have a good match. You ask questions and look for any suspicious activity with the printers, preferably documented.”

Meryl bit her lip with a wary glance at the manager. “But she’s scary.”

“But you’re a cop.”

“Oh, okay.” Meryl turned back to the manager with her best friendly face, although she couldn’t quite cover up her apprehension. “I’d like to ask you about the services you provide…”

“Come with me,” Percy said, making her way to the back. Inside were a few printers about as tall as her waist. Through another door was a printer that was definitely taller than her waist.

“Wow, look at all that!” Molly exclaimed, darting around the machinery. “It’s so huge! So this is what they used!”

“Yup,” Ramsey said. “Normal people print newspapers and posters, but if you’re sneaky enough, you could make counterfeit without the employees ever raising an eyebrow. Just book the place for a few hours in the morning and you’ve got yourself a nice little workshop.”

Molly returned to Percy, bouncing on the balls of her feet, the stars in her hair bobbing. “What should we do first, Percy?”

Percy had to work hard to still her hands that were begging to be flapped. A rush of warmth filled her chest for the girl. “We should split up and look for anything suspicious or out of the ordinary. You two could start from those corners and I’ll start over here.”

“Aye aye, captain!” Molly said, rushing off to the indicated corner.

Ramsey flashed some finger guns and walked to his corner.

In her head, Percy split up her section into squares, making a plan to search incrementally and work toward the center of the room. She crouched and observed the floor, finding only dust and scuff marks. Sweeping her eyes across the scene, she edged back and mentally checked off each square as she went. The machinery was also fairly clean, betraying no evidence of crime.

At some point, Ramsey snapped his gum and Molly shouted, “Do that again and me and my misophonia will strangle you!”

“Augh, so mean!”

Percy rolled her eyes as the two shared a laugh. They made quite the entertaining pair, that’s for sure. She couldn’t help but wonder how she could ever live without them. How did she ever live before she met them? What if there came a day that she had to do it again? She hastily turned her attention back to the search, banishing the thought. Nothing, nothing, nothing. The machinery, however, was quite fascinating to observe. Eventually, she worked her way to the center of her sector, bringing up nothing.

“Hey, Percy!” Molly popped up, pointing to a spot underneath the printer.

Percy rushed over, electricity sparking in her chest. Could it be a lead? Kneeling down, she peered underneath the printer. A small scrap of paper not even a centimeter large sat collecting dust. She reached for it, not enthused about all the dirt that collected on her glove in doing so. The paper was pale green, a perfect match for the counterfeit money at the bank.

“Now that’s somethin’,” Ramsey said, looking over Percy’s shoulder.

“It really is. It connects this print shop to the crime!” She carefully put the scrap of paper inside a plastic bag and wrote the name of the shop across the bottom. “Excellent work, Molly!”

Molly shyly directed her gaze to the floor, tugging at a strand of hair.

“We should report our findings,” Percy said, walking back to the front of the shop.

Upon their reentry, Meryl flashed a look of pure relief in a motion hidden from the manager. “Thank you for your time,” she shakily said, rushing back to Percy’s side. “Let’s-a go,” she whispered. Back on the street, Meryl sighed loudly. “That was one crotchety old lady! Glad to get away from her!”

“But she can’t be more than 45,” Percy said to no avail.

“After some prying, I got her to print off some records here.” Meryl rustled the sheets of paper in her hand. “Starting three weeks ago, someone has been consistently booking the big printer for three hours every morning. These sessions have always been paid for in cash and it’s been booked under different names each time. They couldn’t confirm if it was the same person every session, but it seemed pretty suspect to me. And she wouldn’t let me check out security cam footage without a warrant, the old grump. They only have the one camera in the front, though.”

Percy tapped her chin. “I suppose that’s something to go off of. But good news! We can positively link that printer to the crime.”

“Oh, do tell!”

“Molly found a scrap of paper that perfectly matches the counterfeit.”

“You did?” Meryl gushed. “Good job, Molly!”

Molly mumbled a sheepish “Thanks” and hid her face behind her hands. What a sweet girl.

Meryl laughed. “I’ll bet Eros will be happy about this! He nearly pulled his mustache out over this whole thing.”

“I only hope that they’ve located the drivers for questioning,” Percy said.

Meryl pushed her bangs out of her face. “Do you think they could’ve done it?”

“Hm… My gut says no, but they do seem like the most likely perpetrators thus far.” Percy tapped the hilt of her sword as she thought it over some more.

“I don’t think so!” Surprised, everyone turned to look at Molly. She shrunk at the attention, but continued. “They’ve gotta be trustworthy if they’re shipping millions of dollars, so I doubt it could be them.”

Meryl nodded slowly. “True, but they could have misused that trust. They were probably some of the people closest to the whole process, so they could have easily figured out a way to steal it.”

Molly became a little flustered, moving her hands as she spoke. “Yeah, but they could also just as easily get caught, right? It wouldn’t have been a smart move for them.”

Percy was both astonished and pleased that Molly was defending the drivers. What possible reason would she have for wanting to protect them? But all the same, it was a testament to the girl’s heart. “We shall give them the benefit of the doubt for now,” she said. “Our code of conduct  _ is  _ ‘innocent until proven guilty,’ after all.”

Molly only looked slightly reassured. “Eh, if they didn’t do it, they’ll be alright,” Ramsey said.

The girl only nodded.

Ramsey shot a look to Percy. She shared the same sentiment. Or, at least, hoped it would be true. Although she really believed in the justice system and did her best to be fair at all times, the police department could be quite the beast if left unchecked. It was an unfortunate reality, but at the end of the day, it was an imperfect system run by imperfect people. She was by no means omnipotent, but she always pledged to work her fingers to the bone until the truth was uncovered.

Arriving back at Central Trust, Percy quickly located Eros among the handful of cops. He was hard to miss with that hot pink hair and beefy frame. He whipped around upon their arrival, his expression imploring them to come bearing a lead.

“We got some suspicious activity at Bengal Prints,” Meryl said, handing him the booking report.

“And Molly found a piece of counterfeit paper,” Percy said with the plastic bag raised. She was never one to be the “proud parent” archetype, but she felt a flush of pride in that moment.

Eros took it, examining the scrap of paper within with a pleased look. “Good work, little deputy. I’m absolutely chuffed.”

Molly accepted the praise with an awkward grin.

“Aw, why don’t I get a cool nickname like that?” Ramsey griped.

Eros shifted his shades to the tip of his nose, scanning Ramsey with a frown. “You dare disrespect the nickname I have so graciously bequeathed you?”

“Well, ain’t exactly a compliment.”

“I’m not coming up with a new one.”

“But I gave you gum.”

“Shut up, conman.”

“Okay.”

“Anyway,” Eros continued, “we’ve got those drivers tracked down. Officers are taking them down to the station right now. Can I send you two to handle the interrogations? Everyone else down there right now are newbies.”

“Yessir,” Meryl said with a casual salute.

“Alrighty, chop chop. We’ll clean things up over here.” Turning away, Eros began to bark some orders at the remaining officers.

“Let’s take these two back home,” Percy said once they left the bank and piled into a cruiser. She checked her watch, which read 8:49. “It’s getting close to Molly’s bedtime.” Thankfully, Ramsey’s apartment wasn’t too far. As she dropped them off, she gave Molly a high-five and watched until they shut the door behind him.

From the passenger seat, Meryl stared after them as well. “Hm.”

Percy pulled out onto the road, sensing the unease from her partner. “Is something wrong?”

“Well, I…” She nervously adjusted her glasses. “I hate to say it, but I still can’t believe you let him watch her.”

Percy felt her heart shrivel. She could understand why so many people distrusted Ramsey, but it still hurt whenever they voiced it. After all, she trusted him wholeheartedly, so why couldn’t everyone else? “He loves Molly too.”

“That’s not the problem,” Meryl said, throwing out a hand. “I just… I worry about her being alone with a criminal. It scares me.”

“If you got to know him, you’d understand. He has a rough past, but he’s really soft-hearted.”

“I had a rough past too, but I didn’t commit crime because of it.” Meryl gently put a hand to her eyepatch, her expression becoming distant.

Percy tapped the wheel, falling into a despondent silence. She really did appreciate Meryl’s concerns, but it was difficult knowing that Ramsey was a part of her life her friend would never approve of. Through no fault of her own, Meryl had become victim to some of the most heinous violent acts imaginable. Her deep-rooted loathing for criminals never came from senseless spite. No, it came from a place of suffering.

“I just want you to know...” Meryl said softly, breaking the silence. “I’m not saying this to be mean or to shame you. I’m saying it because I care.”

Percy smiled gingerly as she parked in front of the precinct. “Thank you.” It was nice that someone cared about her and Molly, but that concern set worms of self-doubt crawling over her body. Was she a good parent? To anyone that didn’t know Ramsey, the idea of leaving a young girl with him was probably horrendous. Despite the uncertainty of others, she still felt that her decisions were sound. The lights of the police station were almost blinding as they walked in from the darkness.

An officer stopped them. “We dug up some information on these guys,” she said. “The young guy’s clean. He’s just some kid with a young family in a house his daddy paid for. The other guy, though…” The officer leaned in. “The other guy lost a ton of money a couple years ago in the stock market. It hit his family pretty hard, so there’s a motive. He’s been with this company for 15 years, so he knows everything inside and out. Also, a while back he was a suspect in a theft case and he was fully acquitted, but we’re not so sure. We think that all the fingers are pointing to him.”

Percy replied curtly. “We’ll see.”

Striding into the hallway of interrogation rooms, they found another officer watching over two terrified men. The officer looked up at their approach. “We haven’t told them anything yet. They’re all yours.”

“How about I chat with the young guy first, then you can take the other,” Meryl said. Percy nodded, watching through the glass as Meryl ushered the man to take a seat at the table. The poor kid looked panicked. Meryl went through a few questions, speaking softly and kindly. The young man eventually calmed down and started to deliver his answers with more confidence. Soon enough, it was done and the man almost sobbed out in pure relief. They let him go, having gained a few useful pieces of information. They now knew the routine they followed for cash shipments and the route their truck took. There was also an interesting occurrence that happened during that morning’s shipment. Percy looked over to the older man sitting on the bench, looking about ready to bolt. She’d have to see if he had the same story.

Guiding the man into the interrogation room, she gestured for him to take a seat. His eyes widened as the door shut with a heavy click and sweat gathered on his temples. He was rapidly rubbing his palms together, pausing every other moment to run his fingers down his graying goatee. She couldn’t help but sympathize with him. Being dragged down to a police station late in the evening couldn’t have been a pleasant experience.

“Hello,” Percy greeted warmly. “I’m just going to ask you a few questions.”

“I, uh, don’t want to answer anything until you tell me why I’m here.”

“I’m sorry to withhold that from you, but it’s a tactic we use to find honest answers.”

“You’re—you’re tryin’ to catch me on a lie, aren’t you?” he gasped. “Well, whatever happened, I didn’t do it!”

Percy smiled, hoping to calm his nerves. “We don’t believe that you did it. You were merely close to the incident that occurred, so we’re hoping to get your help in solving the case.”

He shoved his glasses up his nose. “O-okay.”

“First, let’s start with your name, age, and occupation.”

“Uh, I’m Ray Stein. 51. Work as a truck driver for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, but I do some other stuff too.”

“Wonderful, thank you, Ray.” She paused, gathering her thoughts. “Can you describe what happens on a normal day when you’re driving a shipment to the bank?”

The man tugged at his collar. “Uh, yeah. Uh, so we, uh, sorry…”

“It’s alright. Take your time.”

“Sorry. So we start off at that cash printing facility about, uh, about two hours away. Then, uh, we load up the cases of money into the back of our truck.” He smiled nervously. “It’s, uh, quite the process ‘cause there are so many people and cameras watching everything. Then we, uh, lock up the truck and head down to the bank and unload. Well, we the drivers don’t lock it. Someone else with the special key locks it. It’s some high-security stuff.”

The man reminded her of Ramsey a little. He also stuttered and used filler words when he was nervous. “That sounds like a job that would require a large sum of trust.”

“Heh, yeah,” Ray said with a chuckle. “You should’ve seen the crazy background checks they did on me when I, uh, first applied.”

Oh yes, that would be a good time to ask about the theft charges, but she didn’t want to come across as accusatory. “Was there anything to cause concern with your background check?”

Ray flushed. “Y-yeah. A petty theft charge. But it was just a wrong place, wrong time sorta thing. I got in trouble, but I got a full acquittal. I was almost framed, actually, but I’m glad the cops knew how to do their jobs. But yeah, they didn’t raise eyebrows. It was 25 years ago and everything else was clean and I had the right kind of experience they wanted.”

“That’s good. Do you recall anything out of the ordinary happening before your shipment?”

“Oh yeah. My truck had some maintenance about, uh, two or three days ago.”

Percy made a mental note to check up on that maintenance. “Did anything out of the ordinary happen this morning over your delivery?” This was perhaps the greatest point of interest in his story. If it didn’t match the young man’s account, well, that would be bad.

Ray adjusted his glasses. “Yeah, yeah. Just as we were comin’ off the freeway, this cop stopped us.”

“Can you describe this event?” Percy asked, cocking her head.

“Yeah, it was, uh, pretty weird. We’re turning the corner and I had to slam on the breaks ‘cause there were traffic cones set up not 15 feet past the corner. This, uh, this cop lady comes and knocks on our window, so I roll it down to talk to her, you know.” Ray groaned, putting his hand to his forehead. “Then she wastes our time yellin’ at us, talkin’ about how there’s maintenance and a detour and we needed to go the other way. Lady yaps on for 10 minutes before lettin’ us go. She was more inconvenient than the detour itself. Then we get to Central Trust late and everyone’s mad and we work faster to get the shipment unloaded in time before the bank opens.”

The story matched the young man’s perfectly. Percy stood. “Thank you for your time, Ray.”

“Oh, uh, sure.” He scrambled to his feet, letting out a relieved sigh. “Do I get to know what happened now?” He chuckled. “Don’t tell me that our money got stolen or something.”

Before Percy could say anything, the officer from before burst through the door and clapped handcuffs over the man’s wrists. “Ray Stein, you’re under arrest for suspicion of stealing a million dollars from the bank.”

Ray yelled, trying to squirm away. “Wait, that’s seriously what happened? I didn’t do it!” His terrified eyes met Percy’s, but she was too dumbfounded to do anything. That, and she couldn’t do anything. The man’s screams echoed down the hall as two officers dragged him to the holding cell.

She numbly stepped from the interrogation room. “What happened?”

Meryl looked equally shocked. “I, I—those two officers were talking to me about it. They really think he did it. That last quip was the nail in the coffin. They thought it was a Freudian slip or something.”

“What?” Percy glared in the direction the officers went. “They arrested him because of a joke? But we don’t have anything directly linking him to the crime!”

“That’s what I told them,” Meryl hissed, “but they thought it was all too coincidental. Tch. They’re the newbies. Newbies always throw around their weight and jump to conclusions.” She nervously tugged at the sleeves of her coat. "What to do, what to do? We gotta get a lead on this soon."

Anger simmered in Percy’s chest. A deep instinctual urge told her that Ray Stein was innocent. Could he be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huzzah, I'm finally actually including Meryl this time! I've been kiiinda giving her the shaft even though I wanted to include her, but here she is and with actual screen time! Get ready for a n x i e t y b e a n  
> (as if there already wasn't enough anxiety haha)


	3. Chapter 3

Ramsey nearly dropped his controller. He and Molly were lying side by side on their stomachs, the screen propped up on the carpet in front of them. On it, Lucina stood triumphant.

“D-did you see that?” He grinned widely from the sheer excitement.

“Holy crap, that counter was perfectly timed,” Molly said, giving him a nudge. “I’m saving that replay.”

Setting down his controller, he rolled onto his back, grinning stupidly at the ceiling. “I’m gonna remember this day for the rest of my life.”

Molly finished off her bottle of Mountain Dew. “That was monumental.”

“And probably a good place to finish off for the night.”

“Aw, ‘cause you don’t wanna lose again after you finally won?”

“It’s almost 11:00. Oh yeah, and that too.”

She punched his shoulder with a snicker.

Sitting up, Ramsey punched her back. “Okay, let’s get your teeth brushed,” he said as he dodged another punch. As they brushed their teeth, they tried to flick water on each other without the other noticing. When Molly finished flossing, she popped her retainers in her mouth.

“Dang, you have to wear retainers?” Ramsey asked, rinsing off his toothbrush.

“Yeah, it’s _laaame_ ,” Molly groaned. “I’m supposed to wear them for the rest of my life.”

“Yikes. When did you get your braces off?”

“January. Did you ever have braces?”

“Nah, I was one of the lucky ones. Heh, I think my parents only ever took me to the dentist twice.” He pauses every few words to floss. “The first time, they said I didn’t need braces and the second time, I got my wisdom teeth out. Then my mom didn’t want to buy the pain meds because they were too expensive, so I suffered for three weeks.”

Molly stared at him in the mirror, mouth gaping.

He felt a twinge in his chest. “That… that isn’t normal?”

“Even my dad took me to the dentist every six months, even though I had to constantly remind him,” Molly said with incredulity. “And everyone gets pain meds.”

“Well.” He had always wondered why the other kids at school had gotten over their wisdom teeth in a week and a half. He had assumed he was just a special case. “That’s depressing. Sucks for me, I guess.”

Molly patted him on the back and nodded in silent agreement.

“Okay, moving on,” he said, walking back into the kitchen. “So, I got you a pillow and blankets, and if you’re hungry, feel welcome to raid my fridge.”

Molly hopped on the couch, straightening the blankets. “Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask. Why do you have four pounds of butter in your fridge?”

“Reasons. And if you need anything, wake me up. Just in a pleasant way, please.”

She giggled, probably remembering the time she took a page out of Giovanni’s book and put her cold, wet hands on the back of his neck. “Will do.”

“‘Kay. Goodnight.”

She wriggled under the blankets. “Goodnight.”

Ramsey switched the lights off and walked back to his room, nearly running into a wall in the dark. He flopped on his bed, grateful to get some sleep. It didn’t last for long, however, as his thoughts drifted to Molly. He wondered if he was doing a good job. Parenting her, that is. Well, partially parenting really. They kind of just hung out every now and then. He hoped that he was giving her solid emotional support at least. It’s not like he had any authority to really “parent” her. He and Percy weren’t really a thing. Well, they _were_ a thing, just not a “put a ring on it” kind of thing.

Reddening, he wondered what Percy thought about marriage. For Ramsey, the thought both excited and terrified him. If that happened, he couldn’t just hang out anymore. He’d have real responsibility. His heart pounded at the thought. Of course, he wanted to do well, he didn’t want to let them down, but he didn’t trust himself not to screw things up. Eh, they’d probably never get married anyway. Stupid of him to even think that. They’d only known each other for six months and never brought it up once. She was a cop and he was a criminal. Why bother worrying about it?

Casting aside the thought stung a bit.

Maybe they would just stay like this forever. He could help out whenever Percy needed. Be Molly’s friend. Give Percy a stick of butter whenever she was stressed out. It always seemed to lighten her mood. Hopefully her investigation was going well. He shivered, wishing Percy was beside him. Every time she touched him or just when she was _there_ made him feel like... a worthwhile human being. Was it selfish to want that all the time? Was it selfish wanting to go to sleep every night knowing that she was right there? Sometimes it hurt to wake up alone.

Ramsey sat up, realizing he was gasping for air. _Just calm down._ After a few deep breaths, he could breathe easily, although his heart was still running at breakneck speeds. He filtered out his mind and soon enough, his heart rate began to slow down as well. Thankfully, he never got random, unprovoked flights of anxiety anymore, although the disorder always made itself known. The stress really got to him sometimes.

He quietly stepped out of bed and tiptoed to the kitchen, trying to find a cup without rattling anything. The clock was barely visible on the wall and he had to squint to see it. Geez, he had been thinking for two hours? He really had to stop doing that. He filled a cup at the sink, turning to look at the front room.

_Wait, where is child?_

His stomach lurched as he tried to make out Molly’s form in the darkness. But only a pillow and blanket sat on the couch. He chugged his water, but when he looked back, Molly was still gone. So it wasn’t some dehydrated mirage. Inching into the front room, Ramsey flipped the light switch. Still gone. It was a small apartment. How the hell do you lose a kid in such a small apartment? He heard blood pounding in his ears and his heart rate shot right back up.

“M-molly?” No answer. He raised his voice a little. “Molly?” _Oh shit._ Her backpack was gone. His legs felt like they were gone too. He looked down to see himself shaking violently. _Dear Lord, what do I do?_ Call Percy? Call the cops? But Percy was the cops. He stumbled to the table where he left his phone. Maybe call Molly first. His hands shook so hard he could barely press the buttons, but after a few rings, Molly thankfully picked up.

His voice was quivering. “Mol—Molly?”

“It—it’s me.” She sounded startled.

He was unbelievably relieved to hear her voice. “Where, uh, where are you?”

“I went on a walk.”

“By—by yourself? At night?”

A long pause. “...Yeah.”

“Well, can you come back?”

“Yeah. Just give me a few minutes.” And she hung up.

Ramsey set the phone down, feeling completely disconnected from himself. What kind of crazy kid… Or was it him? Did he do something wrong? His chest stung and he was petrified.

As promised, a few minutes later, Molly timidly walked through the door, slowly shutting it behind her. Her expression was unreadable. Ramsey just stared at her, not knowing what to do. He never learned how to deal with this kind of situation. Heck, he never learned how to be a real parent, if he could even be considered that. It’s not like he had great role models or anything.

He tried to think of something to say, but only one thought surfaced in his mind. “Okay. What the hell?”

Molly cast her gaze to the floor, her lip trembling.

He put a fist to his forehead, realizing that probably wasn’t the best thing to say. Stupid. “Sorry, I shouldn’t curse at you. But what were you doing? You’re not hurt, are you?”

She scrubbed at her cheek, voice on the verge of breaking. “I’m not hurt.”

“Are you going to tell me what you were doing?”

“No.” The word hung in the air followed by a piercing silence.

Trying to keep his voice even, he sat on the couch and patted the spot next to him. “Let’s talk.” He was still shaking.

Molly tried to whimper a response, but ended up nodding, setting her backpack on the floor. She reluctantly collapsed on the couch next to him, burying her face in the sleeves of her hoodie. Her shoulders shook under the impact of silent sobs. He wrapped his arms around her as she cried. Ramsey was on the precipice of crying himself.

“I was pretty scared there, but I’m glad you’re alright,” he murmured.

“I’m sorry!” Molly wailed, voice muffled. Her gasps were labored as she cried into his shoulder.

There were hundreds of questions vying for attention in his head, but for the time being, he just let her cry. Eventually, they were surrounded by a cushiony silence. Not even street noise could be detected. A pervasive sense of calm came over Ramsey and even Molly relaxed. He wondered if that was her epithet in action. Molly pulled away and slumped, waiting for him to speak first.

“Why’d you run off, Molly? Don’t you know it’s dangerous to do that?”

Molly folded her arms and nestled into the fabric of her hoodie. “I didn’t just run off into danger. I’m not stupid.” She kept a stiff look in her eyes and her voice dripped with bitterness.

“Care to elaborate?”

“You might not get it if I told you.”

“We old people understand a lot more than you think. Try me.”

“Well—I dunno.”

Ramsey peered into her face. “Hey, if there’s something wrong, you can be open about it, sweetheart.”

A pained expression crept over her face and her lip trembled again. Tears sprang to her eyes, the pressure making her voice waver. “I just feel like a burden _all the time_.”

He bit his tongue, shocked that she would feel that way. She had always come across as easy-going to him. “Of course you’re not a burden.”

“But you guys just take care of me and I don’t do anything to earn it.”

“Why on earth would you have to earn it?”

Molly pressed her palms into her cheeks. “It’s all too good to be true.” Before he could say anything, she continued on. “I’ve spent so many years caring for myself and trying to earn my dad’s affection, but it didn’t work. And now you guys come along and are just… nice to me. There has to be something wrong that I’m not getting.”

“But this is how it’s supposed to be.” Ramsey rubbed the back of his neck, trying to think of the right things to say. “You’re not supposed to earn affection. If people really love you, then they just give it to you. That’s really not a healthy mindset, sweetheart.”

“But this is how it’s always been!” Molly said, unable to hide her frustration. “You input cash and receive a product. I worked for my dad and he allowed me to live under his roof. I helped Giovanni and Fred with their crime things and they liked me. I offer Sylvie some toys so that he’ll hang out with me. But with you and Percy? Something’s wrong. I don’t give you anything.”

It was strange, seeing things from Molly’s perspective. Her dad must have really warped her view of the world. “We never expected you to. You shouldn’t give to pay back a debt. But one thing I can say for sure is that you really make us happy. You’re all Percy ever talks about, and she’s glowing with pride every time. She really loves you, kiddo.”

She put her hands on her cheeks with a grimace. “I don’t understand what she sees in me.”

Ramsey slouched. “Gee, I know the feeling. But man, am I lucky.” It was quiet for a beat. “This isn’t the first time running away, is it?”

She nodded slightly in an ashamed admission. “Percy never catches me because she actually sleeps like a normal person.”

“And it’s ‘cause you feel like a burden?”

She gestured with her hands, trying to put her thoughts into words. “I want to make something for myself, you know? _Do_ something. It was jarring to go from schoolwork and management to just nothing.”

“So what have you been doing?”

“Ugh, I—I can’t tell you.”

The words fell harshly although they were spoken in earnest. He really wanted to know, to help her maybe… but that would go against her whole reason for doing things on her own. “You depend on yourself too much, Molly,” he said, shaking his head.

Panic returned to her face and she tugged at the sleeves of her jacket. “Are you… are you gonna tell Percy? About running away and feeling like a burden?”

“Do you want me to?”

“No.”

“Then I won’t. But,” he said, tapping her shoulder with his knuckles, “I really think that she should know. I just hope that whatever’s going on, you can figure it out and come clean with her. Maybe we could even help you figure things out if ya talk. You don’t have to do everything alone.”

Her rigid posture slackened. “Thanks a bunch.”

“But, if it keeps happening, I’ll have to tell her. It’s dangerous out there, you know.” He flashed a lazy grin and gave her a nudge. “You never know when you’ll run into some weird one-eyed rat dudes.”

She grinned, the fear in her face melting away. “Then I just won’t get caught.”

Ramsey almost told her “Attagirl,” but that probably wouldn’t have been a good parent thing to do. What did parents do? Scold her? Nah, that’s what awful parents did. Scold and yell and remind their kid that he was worthless every day. For now, he’d respect her space, give her time to figure things out. Help when needed.

Be Molly’s friend.

***

Finally, her shift was over. Percy rubbed her temples, trying to ward off the total and utter exhaustion. Maybe she shouldn’t have volunteered to cover that guy’s shift, but she probably would have gotten called in anyway for such a big case. The only reason why she didn’t collapse in her car and take a nap was because of Molly. She smiled as much as her low energy levels would allow. Sometimes, it was that girl that kept her going through rough days. Oh, and Ramsey too.

Beside her, Meryl yawned. “You going home now?”

“Yes. I’m going to take Molly home and then sleep the morning away,” Percy replied. “What about you?”

“Hm. I’m going to read through our file one more time.” Meryl adjusted her glasses and patted her cheeks. “If I can stay awake, that is. I usually have a day shift, but they called me in for this case.”

Percy laughed. That was Meryl, alright. Always so persistent. “Good luck. Call me if you find anything new.” She started to leave, but a change in Meryl’s posture stopped her.

“I’m really worried about that Ray guy,” she sighed. “They’ve been bothering him all night, but thankfully, he refused to talk until he got a lawyer. They’re already trying to build a case against him.”

Percy’s stomach sank. “I hope we can find enough evidence to set him free.”

With her arms braced on the table in front of her, Meryl’s fists tightened. “I’ll make sure of it.”

Percy nodded and walked into the pale dawn light. The darkness of the night was just beginning to be scared away. Perhaps it was a tad early to pick up Molly. She would probably still be asleep. Pulling out onto the almost empty streets, Percy went through everything in her head once more. Ray Stein couldn’t have done it. Surely his co-driver would have noticed something off because the theft must have happened over the drive. Unless he was in on it as well, but it all seemed unlikely. She grimaced, thinking of those two newbie officers. They only thought he did it because there was no evidence pointing to anyone else. However, he was one of the few people who was definitely close to the crime. The poor man, a suspect by the process of elimination, not by being proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. Wrong place, wrong time. She wasn’t sure whether she could completely put her trust in him, but there certainly wasn’t enough evidence to comfortably arrest him.

Sighing, Percy let her hands slip to her lap and laid back her head. It was 4:00, so she decided to take a nap before going in to pick up Molly.

***

A few hours later, Percy woke up feeling worse than when she first drifted off. A car wasn’t a good place to rest an aching back and she _really_ needed to brush her teeth. She stuck her tongue out. Bleh. At least her eyes no longer burned. Stepping out of the car, she stretched and walked up the stairs of the apartment complex, the sword clinking at her side. It was a wonder that she didn’t collapse.

When she knocked on the door, she paused to rest her head on her forearm and lean against the door frame. The door opening startled her. Did she almost drift off in the four seconds she waited?

“Hey Percy, you alright?” She opened her eyes to see Ramsey holding the sides of her arms to steady her.

His hands felt good. Comforting. Deep and a little buzzy. “Oh, um, I’m okay. Just tired.”

“Yeesh, you sure look the part.” He pulled her inside and deposited her on the couch next to a drowsy-looking Molly. She was grateful to settle into the cushions. Very warm. The next thing she knew, Molly was shaking her awake and saying something about breakfast.

“Percy, Ramsey made some pancakes!”

Her eyes shot open and she finally felt fully conscious. Shaking her head, she stood and shook out her hands. Molly looked up at her with mild amusement. “Oh, hello Molly,” Percy said, smiling. “I don’t believe I said hello to you yet.”

Molly gave her a hug. “Heh, hi Percy.” They sat together at the table as Ramsey passed them plates.

“How did everything go last night?” Percy asked, taking a bite. She felt her stamina replenish.

Molly paused for a moment. “Uh, it went great!”

“Yeah! I finally beat her at Smash Bros!” Ramsey announced with a silly grin.

Percy smiled, knowing the long gaming sessions of frustration they had together. “That’s wonderful. I’m proud of you.”

“Aw shucks.”

“But it wasn’t against my main,” Molly added with a giggle.

“Shh, no one need know,” Ramsey whispered.

Percy finished her pancakes with a drink of water. Realizing that her mouth still tasted awful, she stepped into the bathroom to borrow some of Ramsey’s mouthwash. “Did you two sleep well?”

Molly and Ramsey shared a look. “Um, uh, yeah, yeah, great!” Ramsey stammered after a moment.

Molly nodded vigorously, her hair bouncing with the movement. “Yeah, I slept real good!”

Something was wrong. Percy rubbed her temples. “You let her stay up past her bedtime, didn’t you?”

“I, uh, oops.” Ramsey laughed awkwardly. “Well, I _told_ her to go to bed on time, yeah? But it kinda didn’t happen.”

“Yeah, sorry Percy. It’s my fault entirely,” Molly said with a smile asking for forgiveness.

“Mm…” Percy rinsed off her empty plate in the sink. “Well, I suppose that I _did_ keep you out a little late. And it was a special occasion, after all.”

Ramsey and Molly shared a subtle sigh of relief.

“Anyway,” Percy began, “thank you Ramsey. We best be off.”

Ramsey looked a little deflated, but quickly hid it with a smile. “Uh, yeah. See ya.”

Percy paused, her heart sinking. A sudden realization hit her that she didn’t spend as much time with Ramsey as she used to. Between work and taking care of Molly, she had just been so busy. She tossed the car keys to Molly. “You go on ahead.”

Molly caught them, slung her backpack over her shoulders, and slipped out the front door.

“Heh. She’s probably gonna take it for a quick joyride,” Ramsey said. “Anyway, what’s up?”

Without a word, Percy wrapped her arms around him and held on tightly. Ramsey seemed surprised, but soon reciprocated, leaning into her. “I miss you,” she murmured, her words muffled by his hoodie.

“But I’ve been here the whole time?”

“Yes, but I’ve been working most of that time.” She chuckled. “I don’t think we’ve even spent some time alone together for…”

His posture loosened. “A long time, I guess.”

“Do you ever feel lonely?”

He laughed bitterly and she felt the vibrations in his chest. “You got me, officer.”

“I’m sorry.” Guilt tore at her.

“Not your fault. I’m just needy.”

“No you’re not. I’ll admit, I become so focused on other things that I tend to be distant...” It felt good to openly admit her faults, but it stung all the same. She pulled away slightly to move her hands to his face. “Perhaps when Molly has another sleepover with Sylvie, we can do something together.”

“That’s a brilliant idea.”

Her heart leapt and she pressed her lips into his, feeling an electrical charge through her body. He tilted his head slightly and pulled her closer at the waist. When was the last time they had done that? Well, it was quite awkward to kiss in front of Molly, so it had been…

It had certainly been a long time.

***

It had taken a prodigious amount of willpower and determination to pull away, but Percy finally made it back to the car. She hoped that Molly wasn’t left waiting for too long, but at the same time, it was really nice to catch Ramsey alone for a moment. She grimaced, knowing that one moment wasn’t enough. It was all so much to do. It felt as if she were balancing three lives. Of course, she loved each of them, but it was just so much to do. Perhaps if she could reduce it back to two lives somehow like it used to be. Work life and social life, although that would now be considered family life for her. It would make the most sense to combine the Ramsey and the Molly lives…

Percy almost missed a step and had to grab the handrail to keep herself from losing balance. Would that be an option? Her heart raced and she realized what that would mean. That would mean living together, certainly, but maybe even…

Pretty sure her face was on fire, she shook her head. She never really imagined herself to end up married. Actually, she never thought that she would get this far in a relationship period. She smiled to herself, feeling very lucky. However, she quickly had to calm her thoughts down as they were growing too intense for her tired mind to handle. But, she decided to keep one thing on her mental list to think more on later. Perhaps she would like to marry Ramsey.

She hadn’t realized she had been flapping her hands until she reached out for the handle of the car door.

“What’s got you so excited?” Molly asked with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, nothing.” Percy started the car and forced herself to stay still. “I’m just expending some nervous energy.”

Molly chuckled. “Is it the stress of the case or… you know, a certain someone?”

Percy wasn’t sure why the girl would associate nervous energy with any person in particular, but maybe she came across as more transparent than she meant to be. “Well, just general nervousness I suppose,” she brushed off, fumbling with the words. “Do you have any plans for today?”

Molly shrugged. “Nope.”

“When we get home, I’m going to catch up on sleep, then we should do something together for a while.” Percy tapped the wheel.

“Okay. Sounds fun!”

A feeling of accountability snaked up her back. “And I could get you to bed on time. You seem slightly sleep deprived. I hope you weren’t too exhausted from accompanying me on our investigation last night.”

Molly cocked her head. “Huh? No, of course not.”

“I feel bad about taking you into my work environment when you had other plans.”

Holding up her hands, she said, “No, it’s fine. I’m not tired because of that. I couldn’t sleep well for whatever reason, but not ‘cause of you.” Molly’s words trailed off into silence and she slowly shifted her gaze to the window.

Something certainly seemed off. “Are you… alright?”

“Hm…” The girl lowered her head, tapping the pads of her fingers together. When she spoke again, her voice was weak. “Can I ask you a weird question?”

“You can always ask me a question.”

“Well… sorry, things are just weird right now. But, uh… I’m not sure how to say it.”

Percy stayed quiet, giving the girl time to think.

Finally, Molly looked up with an empty look in her eyes. “Would you still love me even if I did things you didn’t approve of?”

The words hit like a spear to the chest. “Well, I…” She wasn’t expecting such a loaded question. It was actually something she didn’t think about at all. Of course she loved Molly, and she had always assumed the girl knew that. She didn’t foster her just to make a list of rules required for affection. That was something Molly perhaps had come to expect from her father. “My love for you is unconditional, plain and simple. That will always be a baseline.”

Molly leaned back in her seat, putting a hand to her face.

“I hope that you remember that you always deserve love and that I’ll always give it to you,” Percy said softly. “If you were doing things that I don’t approve of… Well, it will have to be handled on a case-by-case basis, but it will always be my priority to protect you and help you. But, no matter what, I’ll always love you.”

Molly smiled. A soft, subtle one that happens when streaks of light are visible through the clouds. “That’s good to hear.”

Hopefully, those were the words that Molly needed to hear. She had a feeling that she hadn’t quite reached the core of the problem, so Percy patted her arm before returning her attention to the road. Why did Molly feel the need to ask that? Perhaps she would need to find that out, but it was good to lay out some base comfort. Unconditional love was something every child deserved, and probably something that Molly needed more of than most. It was something that Percy wished she had in her childhood. An unconditional safety net. She quickly condemned the thought. Her relationship with her parents was just fine, so what did she have to complain about?

However, it was painful when her parents didn’t approve of anything she did. _A lady shouldn’t cut her hair so short. Why can’t you sew instead of sword fight? We don’t want you to move to the city. Are you sure that autistic people can be cops? When will you just settle down and move back home?_ Sometimes, she wondered if they ever approved of her existence. They were always overjoyed when she brought back her perfect grade report, but never with anything that Percy _wanted_ to do. It seemed like they had plenty of love for their cookie-cutter dream daughter Percival, but they never accepted just her. Percy.

She would never do the same to Molly. Molly would always be safe to learn and grow. She added a note on her mental list to talk to Sylvie. Being a licensed therapist and a friend, maybe he could help Molly work through her feelings of inadequacy better than Percy could.

When they arrived home, Molly walked off to her room and Percy went to hers. When she first signed the lease for the apartment all those years ago, she wasn’t sure that having two rooms was necessary. However, it was the cheapest one that was decently close to work, so she decided to go along with it. That room was never used for, well, anything at all, but when Molly moved in, Percy was definitely glad to have chosen that apartment.

Loosening her tie was a relief. Softly closing the door, Percy quickly changed into joggers and a quarter-sleeve shirt. It was a good length of sleeve. Her bed felt more comfortable than ever before as she nestled under the covers, finally letting her aching muscles relax. Her first instinct was to go over the facts of the case—money, Central Trust, Bengal Prints, paper—but she couldn’t quite focus in the way she wanted to. Instead, she went over her domestic list. Groceries tomorrow, laundry, clean the apartment next week, Molly, Sylvie. Ramsey. There it was.

She screamed internally. It was a lot to think about. Raising her hands in the air, she shook them out to help organize her thoughts. Was Ramsey the type to… Would he even say yes if she asked? Over the course of her life, she had become more proficient in reading the emotions of others, although some of it still went over her head. But when it came to predicting what others might do? She was completely lost. And with such a life-changing decision? May the Lord have mercy on her soul.

Deciding to put off sleep just a moment longer, she found a notebook on her desk and made a cost-benefit analysis chart.

_Cost:_

_Hard to ask, have to see what he thinks first_

_Scary_

_Have to figure out his apartment lease for when he would move in_

_Change tax withholdings at work again_

_ Foster parent relicensing (yikes) _

_Probably have to tell parents at some point_

Yikes, especially for that last one. She hadn’t even told them that she was dating Ramsey. Telling them that she was engaged out of the blue would probably give them a heart attack. She should probably tell them about Molly too. Actually, it had been a while since she had talked to them at all...

_Benefit:_

_I love him_

_Good for Molly to have constant father figure_

_Also wouldn’t have to drop her off at other people’s places all the time_

_Don’t have to go to his apartment to visit_

_He could help cook while I work_

_Sleep in the same bed ALL THE TIME_

_I love him_

Oh wait, she already put that one. Were those butterflies in her stomach or just nausea? Hard to tell. Once again, her face felt like a furnace. Should she do it? The thought was exciting and terrifying. It was a step she kind of wanted to take, but that step would be more of a leap of faith. She’d have to think on it more, test the waters a little bit. But how? Her first instinct would be to ask him outright, but that would probably be too obvious. She would need a subtle approach. Maybe Molly could help? No, that would be mildly awkward. Maybe Meryl. Yeah, wingman Meryl.

Percy settled into her bed once more. How strange to even consider asking anyone for relationship advice. That was something she never really talked about, unless it was with Ramsey himself. She pressed her fists into her cheeks, embarrassed at how shy she was about the whole thing. It was new territory, after all. Before she met Ramsey, she wasn’t interested in romance. Or in other people very much, for the matter. The joys of being autistic _and_ asexual.

She tried to sleep some more, but she just kept rolling the thoughts over and over in her head.


	4. Chapter 4

Ramsey had been left staring at the door for much longer than he would have liked to admit. Geez, he really knew what Percy meant when she said that she missed him. Of course, he just shrugged it off, didn’t want to acknowledge the crushing loneliness he felt whenever Percy and Molly were gone. But man. Looking around at his abandoned apartment filled him with longing, making the place feel that much more empty. There was nothing but a half-finished commission waiting for him.

He sighed, tightening his ponytail. Might as well get back to work, but he really wasn’t feeling it. He just didn’t want to be alone. Though Percy was long gone, he could still feel her arms and her lips, the sparks running down his spine when she whispered “I love you” into his ear before leaving… Cripes, when did he become such a hopeless romantic? He used to like being alone, so what happened to that guy? Well, Percy happened.

He stared at the commission on his desk, trying to hype himself up enough to actually work on it.

***

“It was Plum in the kitchen with the dagger,” Molly declared, spreading the cards across the coffee table. Sure enough, it was Plum, kitchen, and dagger.

Percy looked down at her chart, disappointed that she hadn’t guessed that sooner. If only she hadn’t wasted her second turn, she could have figured out the location more quickly. Yet, Molly found it out fast enough that anything Percy would have done probably wouldn’t have made a difference. “You’re as sharp as the murder weapon,” she conceded, organizing the cards.

“Why, thank you,” Molly said with a hand at her heart.

“However—” Percy grinned “—you may have won the battle, but I’ve won the war.”

“Aw dang it!” Molly said in mock despair. “You have an unfair advantage ‘cause you’re the detective!”

The two had taken to playing Clue quite often after Molly first introduced Percy to the game. Hearing about a murder mystery board game obviously piqued her intrigue. Although they had bought the game only a few months prior, the cards were already becoming worn with use. When Percy woke up from her nap, they ate lunch together and decided to play a round. Percy won that one, but Molly challenged her to the best two out of three. Then when Molly won that, Percy challenged her to the best three out of five. Eventually, it escalated to the point where Percy won eight out of fifteen. Actually, they had only played to fourteen rounds when Percy won the majority, but Molly wanted to play the full fifteen just for fun. They wisely decided to end it there.

If only cracking the bank case was that easy. With so few leads, it was becoming discouraging. It had only been half a day since the investigation started, however, so it was perhaps too early to lose morale. “How did you figure that one out so quickly?” Percy asked, putting the lid on the box. “You were several steps ahead of me.”

“Oh, you flatter me,” Molly said, taking the game back to the closet. “It’s all a part of my strategy.”

“Please, enlighten me.”

Molly swished her skirt around as she spoke. “Well first, I eliminate the impossible. Then I work with what I know. Then I isolate each element to figure out the answer. Ta-da!” She spread her arms and performed a dramatic bow.

Percy laughed at the girl’s performance. “Excellent. You’re hired!”

“Ooh, does that mean I get a shiny cop badge and a cool sword?” Molly asked with a hop.

Percy cocked her head. Molly would have to learn how to use a sword before she could use it effectively in the line of duty. “Yes on the badge, but let’s take a rain check on the sword.”

Swinging around an invisible weapon, Molly danced around the room. “Maybe I should carry around a mace! That’ll scare off those darn bad guys!”

Of course, Molly could _learn_ how to effectively use the weapon… “I could teach you how to use a sword, if you would like.”

Molly stopped, turning her large green eyes to Percy. “Woah, really?”

Standing, Percy nodded and smiled, pleased at the girl’s interest. “Of course. I could take you to the gym and teach you tomorrow after work.” It would be fun to give Molly a taste of her world.

“AAAH that would be SO COOL!” Molly squealed. Her face was painted with delight.

As the girl continued her energetic gymnastics around the room, Percy tapped her chin, thinking of what she said earlier about her game strategy. The counterfeit case was always in the back of her mind, but what Molly said made her think. Of course Percy had eliminated the impossible, although there wasn’t much to go off of at the moment. She worked with what she had, sure. But isolate each element? That was something to try out. On the previous night’s investigation, she investigated the print shop with the intent of connecting it to the crime, which was successful, but was there anything wrong with the print shop itself? Perhaps she would observe it in isolation.

“Say, Molly? If you don’t mind, would you like to come with me to Bengal Prints again?” She already found herself grabbing her car keys. Lucky she had the cruiser for today. “I’d like to take another look.”

Molly paused, pushing some of her curls out of her face. “But you don’t work until later?”

“Yes, but I would like to make more progress on this case.”

With a shrug, she bounded to the door and stepped outside, turning back with a teasing grin. “Alright, but you really are gonna work yourself to death one of these days!”

Perhaps it was a mistake to go back to Bengal Prints in the afternoon during peak hours. So many people. Every printer was occupied and a line three wide and six people long stretched from the front counter. Small groups of people picked up materials from the shelves and people kept coming and going from the back rooms. In reality, there weren’t _that_ many people. It was just a really small shop.

Slipping her way past the throng, Percy awkwardly mumbled her apologies. “Is it weird to keep saying ‘sorry’ to people? It feels weird,” she whispered to Molly, who was struggling to trail behind.

“Eh, just pass them and don’t say anything. It’ll be fine.”

“Okay.” She glanced at the counter where the manager and two flustered employees dealt with each customer. Perhaps it was a good time to come after all. With the attention of the employees on other things, they could take a good look around without the watchful eye of the manager scrutinizing their every move.

The front lobby didn’t hold anything in particular that would be suspicious. For the most part, it was completely normal. One thing, however, that caught her attention was the security camera. The way it was set up, one could slip through the front door, walk along the wall, and enter the back printer rooms without being seen on the footage. She added a note to her head and began to make her way to the back rooms. When Molly fell behind again, Percy took her hand and they walked side by side.

Somehow, the back rooms were even more crowded than the front and it became uncomfortably warm. Though the room was smaller, it seemed to hold twice as many people. Even Molly seemed to get overcrowded, tugging at her bear hoodie. Looking over someone’s shoulder, Percy examined a printer in action. It was about as normal as any other office printer. She pushed to the very back where the door to the big printer was shut, an “occupied” sign hanging. Molly pressed against her.

She hated to be rude, but an investigation was an investigation. Percy slipped through the door and closed it behind Molly, noting that the air was cooler. A group of four people using the printer looked up, startled. One looked particularly annoyed.

“I apologize for the intrusion,” Percy said, “but I’m an officer investigating this scene. Please ignore us and carry on.” She flashed the badge she had been holding in her pocket. Molly grinned apologetically at the people, staying close by the blonde’s side.

The group, though they looked quite uncomfortable, went back to their business, folding up newsletters as they shot out of the printer and putting them into boxes. The clunking and whirring was quite loud, although Percy enjoyed the almost melodic feel to it. _Wvvr chnk wvvr chnk._ She slightly nodded along with the rhythm.

“Let’s take a look at the perimeter,” Percy whispered. “Last night we just searched the floor.”

Pointing to the far wall, Molly squeezed Percy’s hand. “Did you notice that door before? Because I sure didn’t.”

“Hm, quite interesting.” Coming closer revealed a door the same color as the wall, only identifiable by the outline and the handle. A small sign sat just above the handle, reading, “Exit to only be used for large cargo. Please speak to an employee to unlock the door and load a vehicle.” Outside, Percy assumed there was a parking lot only accessible to those that had permission to use it.

“I didn’t notice last night, probably because it was dark and the door so well camouflaged,” Percy mused, giving it a tug. Indeed it was locked. “This would have been ideal for the culprits to use, if they didn’t risk employee scrutiny.”

“Yeah…” Molly ran her fingers around the handle. “Wouldn’t employees be able to avoid employee scrutiny?”

“Yes, a valid possibility.” She made an additional mental note. Percy walked around the back of the machine. The wall behind it was made up of several panels, so she gave each one an experimental push. To her surprise, one gave in more than the others, so she jostled it. She prodded around the edges to find small finger-sized indentations at the sides. What on earth? Giving it a tug, she realized that it was much heavier than she expected. Huh, she didn’t actually think that there would be a hidden compartment, but it pleased her all the same.

“Would you mind helping me, Molly?” she asked. The group of people at the front end of the printer appeared to be leaving and the machine fell silent. What a relief.

Molly wandered over, a look of mild curiosity across her face. “Huh? What’d you find?”

“It appears to be a secret panel. Here, take that side and we’ll pull it off.”

The girl quickly found the indentation and together, they gave it a pull. The panel leapt off the wall, causing Molly to lose her balance. Percy steadied it, allowing Molly to catch herself, then lowered it to the ground. Hardly being tall enough to peer in, Molly stood on the tips of her toes with her hands braced against the wall and gave a sharp gasp.

Inside were large rolls of green paper, a stamp, a pad of ink, glitter pens, and a guillotine paper cutter.

***

When Ramsey was finally able to shut off his brain, he worked on his commission for half the day, but his mind eventually wandered back to where it was when he got up to get a drink of water. He sat at his desk again, fingers hovering over the power button of his tablet that he had just bought a few weeks prior. Being able to use the thing was an absolute joy, but even the idea of the stylus running over the cool glass surface didn’t make him want to work. Just so distracted. He noticed that he was bouncing his leg, so he held still and took a few deep breaths. His brain wouldn’t shut up for even a hot minute. Oh, he was bouncing his leg again. And chewing his cheek. Ever since Percy pointed it out, he had tried to stop the habit since there were a few times he made himself bleed, but he couldn’t help that it was his go-to.

“Uuugh.” Focusing was a struggle. Giving in to the apathy for a bit would help him reset, then he could get back to work. Slumping out of his chair, he laid spread-eagle on the ground, but when he still couldn’t stop thinking about Percy, he rolled across the floor, stomped on his shoes, and decided to go on a walk.

The afternoon was pretty hot, so Ramsey left his hoodie behind. Sliding down the handrail, he started to walk with two strides to each square of sidewalk to avoid stepping on any cracks. The simple task was actually quite entertaining and helped him clear his mind. He moved to slide his hands into his pockets, but then he remembered that his hoodie wasn’t there, so instead he put them in the pockets of his shorts. His fingers found folded pieces of paper, so he pulled them out. Four bucks. Nice. It was a good day for a milkshake.

Lucky for him, there was a hole-in-the-wall ice cream place just a few blocks from his apartment where he fueled his infinite addiction to milkshakes. He wanted to try every flavor, so he just went down the list they had posted on the wall. So far, he was on number 31 out of 52. He always promised himself that it wasn’t a problem.

It was a decently busy afternoon with a constant stream of people strolling down the sidewalk. Though Ramsey normally didn’t like being around a lot of people, it eased his nerves when he started along the crosswalk. Being the only dude at a crosswalk made his adrenaline pump. Actually, just being near cars made his adrenaline pump. He successfully made it across one, two, three crosswalks. When he opened the door with its familiar ding, it was nice to feel the cool air and be away from the mugginess and the traffic outside. There was a low hum of whispered conversations and the buzz of the freezers, only about a dozen people occupying the place.

At the counter, the kid looked up from his phone and straightened his name tag with a lopsided smile. “Sa, milkshake man.”

“Sup, kid.”

“Contracted diabetes yet?”

Ramsey shrugged, flashing a lazy grin. “Nah, still kickin’.”

The kid snorted. “Aiight. Looks like you’re on raspberry cheesecake tonight.”

“Nice.”

As the kid worked his magic, he turned to talk over his shoulder. “When school starts, make sure you come in after 5:00. I wanna be there when ya hit number 52.”

They swapped the milkshake and the four dollars. “Will do. Keep the change.”

“I swear, Imma sail through college just on your tips. Have a nice evening, sir.”

“You too.”

Before Ramsey could even step away from the counter, he heard the bell above the door ring, followed by a neanderthalic squeal. “Ramsey-chan!”

He stiffened at the sound and he sucked on his teeth. The kid leaned against the counter with raised eyebrows and a look of amusement. Ramsey didn’t have to turn around to see who it was, but he did it anyway. Sure enough, it was Crusher who he heard along with the rest of Giovanni’s clique.

“Well, well, well, look who it is!” Giovanni announced with his arms spread. All the innocent bystanders eating their ice cream stared. “It seems you have stumbled across our GARRISON OF THE DIABOLICAL!”

Ramsey took a long sip of his milkshake as he felt everyone’s eyes glued on him. It was tasty. Very tart. “What are you guys doin’ here?”

“Why, we’re here to get ice cream, obviously!” Giovanni declared, puffs of steam rolling off his fingertips. “What else?”

“With you, I never really know.”

Giovanni laughed heartily, tugging at the fluffy collar of his jacket. “Place your orders, boys! My treat!”

“But you paid last time, boss!” Spike said.

Crusher jumped up, raising his hand in the air. “Ooh, I’ll pay for everyone this time!”

“Hm, I hate to not treat my underlings,” Giovanni mused, “but if you insist, I suppose I’ll let you.”

“Guys, I get to pay for Giovanni’s ice cream!” Crusher declared, pumping his fist in the air. Ramsey stepped aside to avoid the flood of boys as they rushed to the counter.

Giovanni hung behind, looking at his boys with fondness, and came to Ramsey’s side. “I’m so proud of them. They worked really hard today!”

“Uh, doin’ what exactly?” Ramsey asked with a grin, having a feeling that it was probably something villainous.

Giovanni snapped into a defensive pose. “Er, uh, top secret! But also something I would like to ask you about.”

Ah geez, this would be a piece of work. “How am I supposed to talk with you about something that I can’t know about?”

Giovanni whipped his head around, looking out for eavesdroppers, then leaned closer. “We’ll figure it out. C’mon!” The kid dragged Ramsey to a booth in the back and scooted against the wall. Once Ramsey sat down, they put their heads together.

“Alright kid, this better be good,” Ramsey whispered. He hoped the whole ordeal wouldn’t take too long because then he’d never get back to his commission.

Giovanni placed his hands flat on the table. “So here’s the deal. I know you’re good with money ‘cause of your… experience. Hm, how should I say this?” He shifted in his seat and idly tugged at a strand of pink hair, picking out each word carefully. “So I need to… transfer a… large sum of money to… somewhere. So how do I do that without attracting attention?”

Ramsey took a few more slurps of milkshake before speaking. “I dunno, that’s still too vague for me to really help ya. How much money are we talkin’? Gimme a ballpark, at least.”

Brow furrowed, Giovanni bit his lip. “Uh, less than a million, but more than… 500 grand.”

Ramsey nearly choked. “Pff, what? How the hell’d you get that much cash?”

“Oh yeah, speaking of, it’s hard cash, so that’s why it might look suspicious,” he said with a tentative smile.

Ramsey’s stomach quickly sank and he put a fist to his forehead. “Okay, how illegal is this?”

Giovanni chuckled awkwardly. “You can’t just measure the illegality of something, right? It either is or it isn’t.”

“Say that again when you’ve got a murderer and a petty thief side by side.”

“Okay, it’s very illegal,” Giovanni said, giving in. “Probably a six out of ten.”

“Ah, kid, I’d like to help ya out, but I just can’t risk prison again. I’m already on thin ice as it is.” He felt a dark chill fill his chest and he knew it wasn’t from the milkshake. “If—if I get in again… I don’t think I’ll get back out.” No, there was definitely too much on the line. He wanted to help the kid out, he really did, but he couldn’t imagine the look on Percy’s face if she found out that he fell back into his criminal ways. He’d rather jump in front of a semi than ever see that. “Sorry, Giovanni, but I just can’t—” Just as Ramsey had gotten up to leave, the rest of the boys came piling into the booth, pressing against each other to make room. Within seconds, he was squished between Giovanni and Fred as the boys happily licked their ice cream. Somehow, they fit eight in a booth made for six.

“I got your favorite, boss! Pralines ‘n’ cream!” Crusher said, passing a cone to Giovanni.

The pink-haired kid quickly hid away his concern with a beam. “Thank you, Crusher!”

“Yeah, thanks Crusher!” everyone else echoed.

“What advice did Ramsey have for us?” Fred asked, lowering his voice as the boys made jovial conversation amongst themselves.

“He said he’d like to help us, but we can’t land him in any hot water with the fuzz,” Giovanni said.

“Then we just leave out the specifics and only talk about the business side of things,” Fred offered with a shrug.

“Uh, right! ‘Kay, start over.” Giovanni straightened. “We have a business transaction we’d like to make without attracting any unwanted attention.”

“And this part isn’t illegal, I’ll add,” Fred said. “The only questionable part is how we obtained the money, but _this_ isn’t illegal.”

Giovanni nodded vigorously. “Yeah, we just want to donate it to an organization, but due to the amount of cash and recent events out of our control, it’ll definitely attract some attention.” They waited attentively for a response.

“Am I allowed to ask why you’re donating it and who you’re donating it to?” Ramsey said.

Fred rubbed the back of his neck. “Nope.”

Ramsey sighed and leaned back in his seat. Would it be bad to help them? In a very technical sense, he wasn’t doing anything illegal and wasn’t even helping them do anything illegal, but what about the moral side? What would Percy think? She really liked those kids, but Giovanni and Fred were already on very strict terms with her. They could only hang out with Molly when Percy was off duty so that she wouldn’t be obligated to arrest them and they could only be out of the house for short amounts of time and had to be checked on frequently. Oh boy, Percy probably wouldn’t approve. But, Ramsey didn’t want those kids to get in too much trouble. He did care about them a bit, after all.

“Alright, I’ll help,” Ramsey gave in, “but let’s keep this short.”

Giovanni and Fred shared a look of relief.

He took a long sip of his milkshake. He was really going to need it. “What you wanna do is spread this out so that no one gets suspicious. Split it up between yourselves and make sure it’s anonymous. Stagger the timing over, say, a few weeks and for heaven’s sake don’t do the exact same amounts.”

Giovanni pulled out his phone. Ramsey saw the calculator for a second, but the kid turned it away so that he couldn’t see any numbers. After tapping a few times, Giovanni’s face fell. “Even if we did that, it would still be suspicious to see a bunch of teenagers with that much money.”

“Good grief,” Ramsey muttered. “See if they have a donation box and a mail option. Split it up that way. You could also see if they have affiliate companies or parent companies or whatever.”

“Hey, that might work,” Fred said. “Really, we just have to figure out how to make each donation a small enough amount that it wouldn’t be weird.”

“You wanna look into investing or are you just donating cash?”

Giovanni grinned. “Er, just donating.”

“If you got more friends, you can include them to split it up more,” Ramsey said. “Just make sure that, you know, they’re okay with crime.”

Giovanni’s face lit up. “More friends, you say? Car Crash, are you thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?”

“Fred. And heck yeah I am!”

Vivacity returned to Giovanni and he flashed a wide, devilish grin. “Absolutely dastardly! Now we just need one more thing!” He pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket with a smudged list. “What are your opinions on these?”

Ramsey flattened the list against the table and skimmed over it. At the top, it was labeled _Team Names._ Oh boy. Every once in a while, the topic would crop back up in the Discord server. In all the months that the boys had been Ex-Blasters, they hadn’t been able to come up with a new team name. Giovanni was really picky about it because it would be the name that he would build up his career in villany upon. That and no one had any good ideas. Well, they were actually pretty amusing, but none of them sounded as cool as “Banzai Blaster.” Nearly every item on the list was in completely different, but equally messy, handwriting.

_Team Evil_

_The Giovanni GioConnies_

_Ben Blasters_

_Souper Heroes_

_Souper Villains_

_Souper Poopers_

_The Ben Den_

_Gio Cachers_

_Potage Barrage_

_Giovanni and the Bringers of Atrocities_

_Team Ben_

_Shut up, Ben_

_Doom Slayers_

_Gio Groovin’_

_The Gio Crew_

The boys looked at him expectantly, completely oblivious to their own creative bankruptcy. Ramsey tossed the list across the table with another sip of milkshake. “Wow, these all suck ass. I kinda like Potage Barrage, though.”

Giovanni groaned in frustration, shoving the list back in his pocket. “We gotta come up with something soon! I’m about to perform my greatest act of villainy yet and I want it to be attached to a name! A name that will strike pure terror into all those that hear it! I want them to think, ‘ _Those_ guys did _that_ crime?’” He threw his hands up. “And that won’t happen without a cool name!”

Ramsey shrugged. “Dunno, kid. Maybe just use _your_ name? It’s a pretty cool-sounding name, I guess. A lotta people just have, ya know, names.”

“What? Didn’t you have a villain persona?” he demanded.

“Uh, no? I wasn’t exactly advertising my presence. I had to stick to the shadows.”

Giovanni pouted, resting his cheek on his fist. “I guess we’ll have to think on it some more,” he grumbled. “Thanks anyway, I guess. I suppose we can leave you to your milkshake now.”

Having finished their ice creams, the boys began to slide out of the booth. Oh, the sweet release. Giving everyone a fist bump—yikes, some had sticky fingers—Ramsey followed them out the door. “Hey, good luck, kid,” he said, giving Giovanni a nudge. The kid didn’t seem as chipper as he normally was, looking a little wilted.

“Heh, thanks,” Giovanni said, pushing some hair out of his face. “I’m kinda nervous about this one. It’s gonna be big.”

On the sidewalk, they started to go their separate ways. “Eh, you’re clever enough. I’m sure it’ll turn out fine. Just think about things before you leap into action so you don’t screw yourself over.”

Steam curled from his mouth, now spread in a grin. “I’ll do just that!” Just as he turned to follow his boys, he called over his shoulder, “We’ll be on discord tonight if you wanna join us!”

“Alright. I’m working on a commission anyway.”

“Awesome!” With that, the boys ran off around a corner.

Ramsey caught himself smiling. Geez, he never thought he’d like kids, but they were really starting to grow on him. Having Giovanni’s clique around and taking care of Molly… It was really nice. He couldn’t help but think that it was a puzzle piece that he had been missing his whole life. There were too many missing pieces to count, but this was one that he’d hold close. As he walked back to his apartment slurping on his milkshake, he wondered what those kids could be doing. Hopefully they’d stay out of too much trouble. With that much money, it would be risky for sure.

Ramsey stopped. A lot of money. Wait. He squinted after the boys, but they were already gone. Kid said less than a million, but more than $500,000? And right after the bank heist? He stared blankly at the ground. Uh oh. Maybe it was more messy than he thought.

***

Bonus: Another adventure from the Discord server.

_UnbearablyBear:_ @imatthesoupstore

_imatthesoupstore:_ whomst has summoned the almighty one?

_UnbearablyBear:_ It’s me. I just have a question

_imatthesoupstore:_ Ask away, my minion!

_UnbearablyBear:_ Do you remember what you learned in seventh grade?

_imatthesoupstore:_ Haha, i hardly even know what i learned in twelfth grade, and that was only a year ago

Why?

_UnbearablyBear:_ It’s kinda embarrassing, but I’m scared that I won’t keep up in my classes when school starts //o_o//

_imatthesoupstore:_ But why? You’re so smart!!!1!!!!1

_UnbearablyBear:_ I don’t know…

I’m scared that I’ll be too dumb

*roll credits*

_imatthesoupstore:_ Okay, let me teach you your first lesson for seventh grade

You are smart and skilled even if classes are hard!

Grades don’t determine your worth

You always have help if it gets too hard

Don’t be afraid to have some self confidence

School sucks, but you’ve got the gumption to make it. You’ve already been through so much already, so I know that you can do it!

You’re not alone because Flamethrower, Spike, and Ben haven’t graduated yet either

We all love you

If anyone’s mean to you, I’ll HUNT THEM DOWN

_UnbearablyBear:_ Haha, thanks Gio. That makes me feel better

  
_imatthesoupstore:_ Of course, Molly! If you forget sometimes, I’ll always remind you how awesome you are <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I heard a joke from comedian Shayne Smith and have edited to fit Ramsey:
> 
> "So I have this crazy scar, right, and the golden eye? Not only that, but I'm ugly as hell! I'm visually striking, to say the least. Needless to say that I get lots of stares as I go about my day-to-day life. One thing that's part of my regiment is that I go to this ice cream place that's close by and get milkshakes. Frickin' love milkshakes. I drink so many milkshakes, in fact, that the employees have started callin' me milkshake man.
> 
> "Here's the thing, though. Do you know how many milkshakes you have to drink to be called milkshake man _instead_ of scar guy or rat man?
> 
> "A lot.
> 
> " _I have a problem._ "


	5. Chapter 5

“Wow, this is coolio!” Molly squealed from the passenger seat of the cruiser. “You finally got a lead!”

Percy had to pause to flap her hands for a moment before starting the car. “This is the break I’ve been looking for!”

The girl wriggled with excitement, thriving off of the shared exhilaration between them. “What are you gonna do now?”

“I’ll have to put my uniform on then head down to the station and show them the pictures on my phone. Then we can start a proper investigation.” She paused, realizing what that would mean for Molly if she went into work. Horrible guilt clutched at her chest. She had to act quickly on her findings, but she had to sacrifice her time with Molly to do so. “Are you alright if I leave you with Sylvie now?”

Molly nonchalantly grinned. “Of course, Percy.”

The street noise pervaded Percy’s senses as they fell into an uncomfortable silence. She felt her stomach tighten, but Molly was happily humming to herself. “I really am sorry.”

Cocking her head, the girl turned to her. “For what? You know I love hanging out with Sylvie.”

Percy released a stream of air through her teeth, tapping the wheel. A cold feeling washed over her. She was never there for Molly as much as she should have been. That girl’s loneliness would be Percy’s fault. Just like with Ramsey. It was so difficult with her work schedule to keep up with her family. But other people managed it just fine, so what was wrong with her? “If I’m a bad parent, you can just tell me so.”

Molly’s jaw dropped and she fumbled with her words. “Uh, wha—what?”

Percy grimaced, glaring at the road.

“Is this because you have to drop me off at other people’s places so often?”

She nodded, shame gripping at her stomach. She felt as if her head was clamped in a vise.

“Percy…” Molly exclaimed, shaking her head absently. “You’re there for me more than my dad ever was.”

“Well, he wasn’t setting the bar high.”

“Okay, bad example.” Molly waved her hand as if trying to bring words to her mouth. “I understand that you have to work and that it’s demanding. I mean, I used to be a working woman too. But with you, my life is better than it ever has been. You’ve done so much for me and even my family. I just feel bad that I don’t have a way to repay the kindness… But I hope you know that you don’t have to do  _ everything _ .”

Percy’s posture slackened, feeling comfort at the girl’s forgiving tone. “Sometimes, I feel that I don’t adequately fulfill my responsibilities to you.”

She looked over to see Molly’s eyes shining. “Everything you do means the world to me.” She turned to look back at the road with a laugh. “Geez, I was getting emotional there. But, you know, my love for you is unconditional too.”

Percy could only smile.

***

Straightening her tie, Percy strode into the precinct, her shoes tapping smartly on the tiles. She wasn’t all that pleased with wearing a uniform that was a couple days old, but she couldn’t find her spare. She’d probably find it in a laundry basket at some point. She didn’t have time to look since she rushed Molly to Sylvie’s house and then to the station. Meryl jumped at her entrance then looked up with a tired grin, a case file in hand. “Heeey, it’s been a while,” she said, raising a fist.

Percy bumped it. “But it’s only been ten hours.”

“Oh, but so much has happened in those ten hours,” she said, beckoning Percy to her side. Laying the folder flat on the counter, she flipped through a few pages to show off the information they scrounged up. “So we’ve been examining the bank owner’s connections, and oh boy!” She excitedly thumbed through pages and pages of profiles. “Old Burty got more enemies than friends! We even got an ex-wife! Wait, make that three ex-wives. Anyway, this is basically a whole list of possible suspects. I wonder if we’ll be able to connect any of them to the crime… Oh, but wait ‘till ya see this!” She leapt into an office chair, her red hair bouncing, and rolled to the computer in front of her. “We got traffic cam footage!”

The view was of a street just off Center Avenue, few cars making transmutes in the early hours of the morning. Dawn was only just beginning to break. It took her a moment, but Percy finally spotted the target: the back of an armored truck just barely visible around the corner of a building.

“This is the best angle you could get?” Percy asked, leaning closer to the monitor.

Meryl shrugged, sharing in the annoyance. “Yeah, but that’s just ‘cause they covered up their tracks so well. Every other traffic cam was covered with a strange film, almost as if they were underwater. No idea how they managed that, but at least they forgot about this one! In the words of Eros: ‘It’s pretty spicy!’”

Meryl hit a button, letting the snapshots pass by. The truck came to a stop right where the drivers had reported being stopped by a police woman. Percy tapped her chin, her intrigue growing exponentially. Dressed in black, a handful of dark figures came around the corner. Without trouble, they swung the truck doors open and started carrying out cases and taking them somewhere beyond the camera’s field of vision. They came back with identical cases in tow, probably filled with the counterfeit. Within the span of ten minutes, the job was done and they softly shut the doors. Without knowing what happened, the truck took a u-turn and continued on its merry way.

“Now isn’t that something?” Percy said in awe. “So the cop was the ringleader and those were the accomplices. Looks like we have eight more people to hunt down.”

“Yeah, yeah!” Meryl turned to another page in the report. “The ‘cop’ that the drivers saw had to be in on it as a distraction! I took a look at our records, and we didn’t have any officers dispatched to that location and there wasn’t even road maintenance that day. We questioned the drivers some more, bless Ray’s heart, and we found out it was a decently tall woman, likely in her forties with dark hair tucked under her hat and brown skin. The four people on the force that match that description had solid alibis. The drivers don’t recall seeing a badge or a nametag on her uniform.”

There was certainly one person matching the description of the fake cop that popped up in Percy’s head, but she decided to wait for Meryl to finish her update before speaking her mind.

“Another thing,” Meryl added, pulling up a picture of the truck, “is that I found the maintenance records for this bad boy. Went in two days earlier for a flat tire. There were nails in the back left tire, which is suspicious if you ask me. They decided to get some general repairs done while they were at it, but when we investigated it, we found that someone had tampered with the lock.” Idly tugging at her hair, Meryl pushed her chair away from the computer and turned to face Percy. “They did it in such a way that the people locking it wouldn’t notice, but all the pistons were shifted so that it would open without the key.” Her face fell. “It’s certainly something, but it hasn’t given us much leeway.”

Percy knew the feeling. “How’s Ray doing?”

“He talked to a lawyer once so far, but he’s still pretty anxious.” Meryl grimaced, putting a fist to her forehead. “Ugh, we really jumped the gun on arresting him. They should have waited for more evidence. I mean, sure he’s a suspect, but we hardly know anything about the case right now.”

“He has a family, too. I’m sure they’re worried.” Percy thought of Molly. Ray probably cared for his family just as much. “And I hope that this whole incident won’t have any poor consequences on his work life. If he gets fired because of this incident…”

“Well, one thing’s for sure,” Mery said, throwing out a hand. “If he’s proved innocent, this whole thing will definitely reflect badly on the police department.” Moments later, she jumped as her phone began to ring in her pocket and she snapped it up before the first ring had ended. “Officer Lockhart speaking. Yes. Mm hm, just send it to that email address. Okay, thank you.” Setting the phone down, she looked up with a triumphant grin.

“What was that?”

“Only Ray’s ticket out of jail!”

“Really?”

Meryl stood, a clever smirk on her face. “Over those ten hours, I did some sleuthing of my own. If you’ll see here…” She went back to the desktop and pulled up an email. Just as she did, a new message popped up from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. “Let me present to you Ray’s work schedule.” Clicking on the attached file revealed a chart with a work schedule covering the previous month. Meryl pulled a piece of paper from the case file, the one containing the times that the big printer was booked. Cross-checking each day with the chart on screen, Meryl’s grin grew wider.

“He’s been working the whole time,” Percy said in awe.

“Looks like he works twelve hour days, too. Heck, he works the whole time Bengal Prints is even open!”

“Now  _ that’s  _ an alibi.”

Meryl printed off the schedule, neatly adding it to the case file. “Let’s show our little friends what a bit of research can do,” she snarkily said.

Percy followed the ginger, excitedly tapping her sword. Walking briskly, they passed through halls until they reached the holding cell in the back. Inside sat Ray Stein, morosely flipping through the pages of a law book. He didn’t look up until Meryl opened the door. When he did, it was clear how distraught he was.

“What is it?” he asked, voice hoarse.

Meryl smiled. “You’re free to go. We got your work schedule, so now you have an official alibi.”

He looked confused. Oh yes, he wouldn’t know that the money was replaced with counterfeit, only that it was stolen. “The alibi is for another location that is connected to the theft,” Percy explained. “Unfortunately, we can’t disclose it to you at this time.”

Immediately, his face lit up. “So I’m just free to go?”

“Yes, and we apologize for all this,” Meryl said. “Those other officers acted too rashly.”

Ray closed the book and stood. “Well, thank you officers,” he said, shaking their hands. “My husband has been freaking out. They only let me call him once.”

“I’m so sorry,” Percy said, thinking of Ramsey. If anything like this happened to him and she didn’t have much of an explanation, she’d be insanely worried as well.

As Ray stepped out of the cell, he stroked his goatee. “If I had a dollar for every time that I’ve been arrested and subsequently acquitted for theft… I’d have two dollars, but it’s weird that it happened twice.”

Sharing bright grins, Meryl and Percy walked with him to the front. Coincidentally, one of the officers that had arrested Ray the previous night was in the hall, gaping.

“Did something happen?” the officer asked.

“Yes. We found this man an alibi, no thanks to you,” Meryl said with a disapproving sniff.

The officer paused, his mouth becoming a tight line. He took an unsure step toward Ray, holding out a hand. “I-I’m sorry, sir,” he stammered. “At the time, I thought it was the right course of action, but looking back, I understand that we acted too hastily. T-that’s no excuse, of course, but I’m sorry.”

Ray stared at the outstretched hand for a moment, then finally shook it. “Hey, no hard feelings. But make sure to listen to your senior officers next time, yeah?” he said, letting a little annoyance show through.

“O-of course! If you would like a ride back to your house, I’m available right now,” the officer said with a shaky grin.

Smiling, Ray shrugged and pushed up his glasses. “Sure.” The two walked out, side by side.

Meryl absently nodded after them. “Wow. They made up in a really mature way.”

“Yes, I’m overjoyed that went well.” Thankfully, it was one more loose end tied up. One down, a thousand to go. Percy grinned, pulling out her phone. “Now you take a look at this.”

Meryl squealed with delight, scrolling through the pictures of the counterfeit supplies and the hidden panel in the wall. “And this was at Bengal Prints?”

“Yup,” Percy said, unable to hide the shared enthusiasm. “And guess who matches the description of the fake cop?”

Meryl’s mouth dropped to the floor. “No, it couldn’t be!”

“Yes, it’s the print shop manager.”

“OOOOOOH! Perc’, you are brilliant!”

“No, Meryl.  _ You  _ are brilliant!”

Shooting to her feet, case file in hand, Meryl streaked to Eros’ office. “Great! Now if we could stop kissing each other’s asses, we could get a search warrant for all this!”

After laying everything out, they were able to obtain a warrant within forty minutes, to Eros’ utter joy. “Here’s some deets we gathered on boss lady, here,” he said, tossing a sheet of paper across his desk along with a warrant. The paper contained some general information along with a picture, an address, and license plate. “The warrant’ll cover the store, her home, and her car. Fly on swift wings, my friends.” He pulled his shades down slightly to wink at them.

“We won’t let you down, sir!” Percy said with a salute.

“This is the break we’ve been looking for!” Meryl said, shoving her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

“Luciana Morez, manager of Bengal Prints,” Percy muttered, staring at the paper in her hands as they walked to the front of the station. She nearly ran into the door, but Meryl opened it just in time.

“I wonder if she goes by Lucy?”

“I’m fairly certain it’s pronounced with a ‘ch’ sound, so that wouldn’t work.”

“Luciana, we’re onto you!” Meryl declared to the world, throwing her fist in the air. They hopped into the cruiser, sharing wide grins.

“I really hope this will be our answer,” Percy said as she hit the accelerator.

Leaning her head back, Meryl sighed. “Yeah, finally. I could hardly get any sleep this morning just thinking about it.”

“I couldn’t sleep well either,” Percy said. She flushed slightly, remembering that it wasn’t necessarily because of the case. Relationships were certainly vexing. Should she ask Meryl about it? A shiver went through her body. She had planned on it, even recited some things to say, but now that she was in the moment, it seemed like a very bad idea. She suddenly felt like an inferno.

“You alright there? You kinda zoned out yet again,” Meryl commented with an amused raise of the eyebrows. The afternoon light lit up her hair like a neon flame, reflecting how Percy felt.

“I, uh…” What to say, what to say, what to say? “I have more than just the case on my mind…”

“Like…?” Meryl traced circles in the air, urging her to keep going.

“Well.” Just the thought of saying it out loud embarrassed her beyond belief. If only she weren’t so shy about these things. But for Ramsey, she’d bite the bullet. “Ick... It’s a matter of a certain engagement that hasn’t been made yet, but I need to find out what the other party thinks about it before making it and I don’t know how to do that.” Her tongue tripped over the words.

“Engagement like you’re making plans with someone?” Meryl asked, the side of her mouth quirking up. “I dunno, you could just ask them. It’s okay to ask people things.”

“Well, it’s not exactly making plans. It requires more commitment. I need to know what they think first before I ask.”

Meryl chuckled. “You’re giving me second hand anxiety just thinkin’ about this. Just ask a general question to see what they think, then get more specific once you find out. But I don’t know if I can help you much until I know what kind of engagement this is.”

Her cheeks were burning and she shrank in her seat. Percy didn’t want to say what kind of engagement it was, so she decided to drop it for then and focus on the case. “No, no, you’re right. I’ll just be forward and ask them about it.” She really just wanted to end the conversation, but that might have been pretty good advice. Or it might not have been. It’s not like she would have known the difference. But since a relationship handbook didn’t exist, she thought she’d give it a try.

“Oh, Perc’, you entertain me. Heh, I’m just glad to see that someone else struggles with socializing too.”

“Well, get ready to be social again, because we’ve got some questions to ask.”

“And it’ll be my pleasure to ask them.”

Bengal Prints was significantly less busy than it was two hours earlier. Only two employees were needed at the front desk. Heads turned when Percy and Meryl strode in side by side, flashing their badges. The employees shared a shocked look.

“Excuse me, but is your manager here?” Percy asked, slipping past the people standing in line.

“N-no,” one employee said.

“Yeah, she left about two hours ago. Said she was feeling really sick,” the other one offered. Drat, Morez must have noticed Percy’s earlier investigation.

“Crap,” Meryl hissed. “Do you know what kind of car she drives?”

The first employee put a hand to her chin. “Um, it’s a white SUV.”

“Matches what we have,” Percy whispered, looking at Luciana’s file again.

“What does her typical work schedule look like?” Meryl asked.

“She almost always works either the morning shift or the morning to close shift with two days off every week” the employee replied.

“So that almost assuredly places her here during the suspected times,” Percy whispered.

Meryl showed a strained smile. “Thank you for your time. We’re just going to perform a quick investigation.” She glowered when she was out of view of the employees.

Thankfully, the room of the large printer wasn’t occupied and when they closed the door behind them, all the sound from the front was muffled. It was just them and the print shop’s dirty secrets. Rushing to the back, Percy quickly found the panel again and the two lifted it off the wall.

Meryl pulled a fingerprint kit from her pocket. “Great, now we can—”

Everything was gone. Not even a speck of dust remained in the hidden compartment. The strong chemical smell of cleaner wafted from it. They stared at it, then at each other, then back in the desolate depths.

“Welp, I’m not wasting my powder on that. Looks like she cleaned up real good.” Dejectedly, Meryl replaced her fingerprint kit. “Maybe another day, little fella.”

“Egads, she knew we were coming. Must have kept it away from her home for convenience then moved it when she recognized my face.”

“At least we have photo evidence,” Meryl said with a shrug. “Guess that leaves the car and the residence.”

They hefted the panel back into place. How anticlimactic. “Let’s at least take a gander at the parking lot before we leave.” Dang, she really thought that they could get some hard evidence. Meryl didn’t want to talk to the employees again, so Percy asked instead if they could unlock the door. Walking out into the parking lot revealed a tight space with only two cars snoozing away in the shadows. It was surrounded on three edges by the backsides of buildings. To the right was an alleyway that led back to the main road with an “Authorized Personnel Only” sign.

“So this is where Ms. Morez always parks?” Percy asked, walking up to an empty space adjacent to the remaining cars.

“Yup,” the employee replied.

As she peered around a car, something caught Meryl’s eye and she crouched next to a small object on the ground and took a few pictures. Gently shifting it into a plastic bag, she raised it with a triumphant look. “At least we’ll have something to take to Eros,” she declared, revealing a glitter pen. It sparkled with gold and green, the exact type of color shifting ink used on the counterfeit. Together, they walked back into the store as the employee locked the door behind them.

“Indeed, it’s something,” Percy muttered to herself when they got back in the car.

“Hey, it’ll be alright,” Meryl said. “We can head over to that address and I bet we’ll find buttloads of evidence!”

Percy sighed. “I hope so. Where’s the address?”

“Here, I’ll give you directions…” Meryl said, flipping through the case file. “It’s on the other side of town, so you’ll want to take a left here on Center… OH MY GOSH!”

The sudden heightened volume made Percy jump.

“Sorry to startle you,” Meryl said, absolutely beaming, “but check this out! It’s too good!”

On the long list of Mr. Hobbs’ long list of connections, Meryl’s finger rested on the first picture. Though it was tiny and certainly at least a decade old, the profile rang with familiarity.

“Luciana Morez Hobbs, ex-wife number one! Oh yeah, take a left at the next light.”

Percy had to whip her attention back to the road. “In—incredible! Do you suppose this was done out of spite, then?”

“That’s what it seems like. Take a right. Looks like they had a helluva divorce and Morez ended up with almost nothing. Stinkin’ rich people paying off their lawyers.’

“Truly unfortunate…” Percy trailed off, squinting ahead. There was a certain tall figure unlocking the door to his apartment. That figure might be quite useful if they found any cash over the course of their search. She screeched to a halt, making Meryl squeak in surprise. “Hey, Ramsey!” she shouted out her window.

Ramsey jumped, fumbling with the keys and milkshake in his hands. “Geez, I nearly fell off the balcony!” he called back.

“Get in, loser! We’re solvin’ crime!” Meryl shouted.

“Can I get my jacket first?”

“Yeah!” Percy replied. He slipped through the door of his apartment.

Meryl shot her a questioning look. “Sure you wanna drag him along?”

“If we find any cash, it will be helpful to know if it’s real or fake.” Percy grinned. “You’ve known him for all these months anyway, so it’s nigh time you finally get a chance to work with him.”

Meryl rolled her eyes as Ramsey dashed out of his apartment, the milkshake having been replaced with a hoodie, and slid down the handrail. He hopped in the car, barely pulling his seatbelt on before Percy pulled out into the road.

“‘Kay, what’re we doin’?” he asked.

“We’re on our way to search this lady’s house,” Meryl said, showing him Ms. Morez’s file. Her voice went quite flat.

“Wai—so, uh, she’s the one that stole all that cash?”

“We can’t say that for sure yet, but that’s what we suspect,” Percy said.

“‘Kay…” Ramsey seemed apprehensive, but he was always that way right before they did something like this. “Uh, where’s Molly?”

“She’s at Sylvie’s house right now,” Percy said, feeling bad about it as she spoke.

“Good, good.”

“We played Clue today. She almost beat me, but I won, eight out of fifteen.”

Ramsey smiled, looking slightly less nervous.

“Oh wow,” Meryl swooned. “Maybe she’ll end up being a detective just like you! You know, catching bad guys and busting criminals.” She cast a subtle, but pointed glance at the back seat.

Sinking, Ramsey awkwardly directed his gaze out the window. “Heh, yeah.”

“Please don’t bully Ramsey today,” Percy sighed.

“Okay, okay,” Meryl said, looking back at the file in her hands. Her slight mischievous smile made Percy hope that she wouldn’t be too mean this time.

***

When Percy parked across the street from a townhouse, Ramsey wasn’t sure whether or not to be relieved that their suspicions weren’t on Giovanni’s clique. Of course, he didn’t know for sure if they were involved, but everything seemed to match up. He shoved a stick of gum in his mouth and chewed hard. The mint smell was a mild comfort as they walked to the door. For whatever reason, his brain had associated the smell of mint with Percy, so he thought of her whenever he chewed gum. Geez, that sounded stupid, but it worked to bring his heart rate down.

The house was pretty nice with its pale blue siding and rock facade. Percy seemed to agree, taking a moment to look it up and down before stepping up to the door and giving it a sharp knock. “Sweet Jazz Police. Open up.” All was silent except for street noise.

After a minute, Meryl sighed and stepped up to the door, whipping a hair pin from her bun. “Eros always likes to bust the door down,” she said, kneeling to pick the lock, “but I prefer a more elegant method.”

Percy immediately stared at her watch. “23 seconds,” she said when Meryl looked back. “Nine for the lock, fourteen for the deadbolt.” Ramsey almost told her that he was impressed, but he ended up not saying it. If anything, she lived up to her last name. Sharp shooter, medic, and lock pick, all in one.

“Hm, gotta pick up the pace for deadbolts, then,” Meryl muttered to herself, opening the door. She inched inside, shaking hands hovering over the pistols at her sides. Her mouth was a thin line, her body braced for an attack. “Looks like nobody’s here, yet her car’s parked on the road.”

Percy silently drew her sword, following after Meryl. The two women gazed around cautiously, stepping as quietly as possible. Ramsey supposed that he should go in with them, but he wasn’t in the mood to be attacked by some lady crazy enough to steal a million bucks. A door slammed from somewhere on the second floor, making the cops stiffen. Just as they were about to walk up the stairs, the pipes whined and they heard the sound of a shower.

“She just didn’t notice us?” Meryl said, posture slackening. “We can take a look around while she, uh, showers I guess. Then we can arrest her.”

“Sounds good to me,” Percy said. “I’ll take the upstairs and make sure to be there when she comes out.”

“Okay, just be careful, doll,” Ramsey said, finally walking inside. The rest of the house was just as nice as the outside. Nice furniture, granite countertops, plush carpet. Apparently the managerial position at Bengal Prints paid well enough.

“I’ll check things out down here,” Meryl said.

Ramsey was about to ask what he should do, but Percy already nodded and disappeared up the stairs. He guessed that meant to just hang with Meryl for a bit. He looked over at the cop, who straightened her coat and started from the back corner of the front room without even looking at him.

“Uh, you want me to help or anything?” he awkwardly said.

Meryl just snorted as she peered under the table. “You use pet names?”

“Eh?”

“Does she call you ‘Ramsey Wamsey’ when you’re alone?”

He put a fist to his forehead, cringing. “I’m pretty sure I contracted stage four liver cancer just from hearing that.”

“My dad died from liver cancer.”

“Oh, uh, s-sorry.”

“No that was a joke,” Meryl said with a snicker, opening all the kitchen drawers and cabinets. “It was actually lung cancer.”

He would have laughed but… No. No, he wouldn’t have laughed. “Seriously?”

“No.”

“Why do you do this to me?”

She even opened the fridge, but it brought up nothing except the indication of an alcohol problem. “Oh, you’re so fun to tease.”

“You don’t like me at all, do you?”

“I like you better when you’re far away from Percy.” She held a single dollar bill from between the couch cushions toward him.

“Real. But hey, I don’t care if you hate me, but at least respect Percy’s decisions, yeah?” The room seemed to heat up immediately. Maybe that was a bit much to say.

Her expression soured and she shoved her glasses up her nose. “Of course I respect her. She’s ten times the cop I’ll ever be, but I just worry. There’s no way I could ever trust a person like you.”

Ramsey looked at the floor, trying to numb the sting in his chest. Sticks and stones, right? It was so easy when he could just spend the day hanging out with Percy and Molly and actually be happy, but that only made the reality checks all the more harsh. He was a criminal and always would be. No matter how accepting Percy was, no one else would accept their relationship so easily. With such a high cost, he wondered why he was even worth it to her. Sometimes, he wished he could just start over and live a normal life. Start out with normal parents, have a normal epithet or none at all, go to school to be an accountant or something, and then fall in love with Percy like a normal dude with both eyes to boot.

Meryl continued her investigation in an uncomfortable silence. The place was fairly small, so it didn’t take too long. Still at least three times bigger than his apartment, though. He didn’t realize he was rocking back and forth until Meryl stared at him for a second. As if he wasn’t already self-conscious enough.

“You nervous or something?” she asked. “Heh, it’s only some old lady. The three of us can take her easy.”

“I, uh—”

She glanced out the window to the small backyard as her voice softened. “I rock too. When I’m nervous.”

What? Ramsey wasn’t sure what to say, but didn’t have to figure it out. “Guys?” Percy called. “Can you check to see if the bathroom has a window?”

“Uh oh,” Meryl muttered. She walked out the sliding glass door and looked up at the house. “Yup,” she called back. “And it’s open too. With a rope hanging out of it!”

“Drat!” Percy snapped, peering back down the stairs. “I couldn’t find anything of interest upstairs. I’ll bet she took all of her counterfeit supplies and ran while we were distracted.”

Ramsey looked out the front door, feeling his stomach sink. “Yup, her car’s gone.”

“And so much wasted water.” Percy disappeared and he heard a door click and the water shut off. She came back down, looking upset. That would have been a good time to give her a stick of butter.

“Looks like we’ve got a road trip on our hands,” Meryl said, heading back out the door. “Morez is just one step ahead of our game.”

A sly smile crossed Percy’s face. “Only one.” As soon as they hopped back in the cruiser, her hand shot for the radio. “Attention all units. We need intel on a white 2017 Chevy Tahoe with the license plate 1S 80256 in the east side of town.”

A few moments later, the radio crackled to life. “Unit 286 reporting. We saw a vehicle matching that description heading east on 32nd. Over.”

Percy turned on the siren and tore out into the street, making Ramsey’s stomach leap. He made sure his seatbelt was very secure.

“She’s only about ten minutes ahead of us,” Meryl said with a chuckle. “Must have barely made it out when we noticed she was gone.”

The radio sputtered with static again. “Unit 154 reporting. Saw the vehicle turn south on Pine. Over.”

Meryl sighed. “Sounds like she’s headed for the interstate.” She took a coin from her pocket, a Canadian dollar, and rubbed it. Must have been a good luck charm or something. “Please let everything go well and no one gets hurt,” she said in a barely audible whisper.

Oh boy, so this was actually happening. The other escapades he had been on were more tame. Things along the lines of  _ Hey conman, wanna take a look at this?  _ And then he’d say if it were real or fake and then go home. Certainly a nice change of pace compared to some of the, er, crazier investigations he’d been on. Looks like this would end up being another one of those.

When Percy turned onto the interstate, Ramsey was afraid to look at the speedometer. They were zooming past other cars that were beginning to pull over. He decided to just grip his seatbelt and take deep breaths.

“So, what led you to this lady?” he asked casually, trying to take his mind off the fact that they were flying down the road in a tin coffin.

“Molly and I found some counterfeiting materials hidden away in her print shop,” Percy said. She continued scanning the road.

“Molly came with you?”

Percy laughed. “Yes. Also, I’m going to teach her how to use a sword sometime. You should come with us.”

The thought of that little gremlin with a sword was slightly terrifying, but it sounded fun. “Okay, cool.”

“Is this the engagement you were asking about?” Meryl whispered, leaning closer to Percy. The heck did that mean?

The blonde vigorously shook her head. “N-no. That’s another thing.”

About twenty more minutes of driving brought up nothing. It was somewhat difficult to locate one specific car amongst the abundance on a four-lane interstate. “Hope we catch her soon,” Meryl muttered. “Once we’re out of city limits, we probably won’t have any more of our units to give us intel.”

Glancing at the cars around her, Percy pressed the accelerator a bit more, squinting at the road ahead. “I’m not seeing—”

“Wait, could that be her?” Meryl pointed just past a sedan ahead.

“Could be…” Just as she had spoken, the white SUV swerved sharply and careened down an exit. “She’s going to the next town over, Arietta.”

“Gah, if only people didn’t suck,” Meryl groaned.

Percy chuckled. “But then we’d be out of a job.”

“Gotta hand it to Morez, here. She’s definitely keeping food on my table!” She jokingly became overly mushy. “I’m just so thankful for all these criminals performing a service for the public! Heck, they create more jobs than the government does!” Ramsey was just thankful that she didn’t shoot a glare at him that time.

“I can’t tell if you're being sarcastic,” Percy said.

“Honestly, it’s true enough that I’m not sure either.”

Ramsey was amazed that they could keep up such a casual conversation while they were in the middle of a high speed car chase. It seemed unfitting for the tense situation, but maybe they were just in their element. The wheels screeched as they sped down the exit and took a right. Ramsey realized that his arms were crossed tightly and that he wasn’t breathing, so he thought it would be a good idea to do that.

Incrementally, they were gaining on the SUV, following it even as it took sharp turns and shot past stop signs. Other drivers on the road slammed on their brakes and pulled over, barely avoiding the chase. Luckily, there was far less traffic there than in Sweet Jazz City.

“C’mon, c‘mon, she isn’t pulling over,” Meryl muttered.

Percy glanced at her dashboard. “She’s driving quite dangerously. I may have to do a pit maneuver.”

“Pit maneuver?” Ramsey squeaked.

“Oh yeah, that’s when we drive alongside her and nudge the back end of her car, causing her to spin out and stop,” Meryl explained.

Ramsey could hardly choke out a response. “Wha?”

Looking back, Meryl flashed an anxious grin. “You might wanna hold on to something!”

“Welp, today’s as good a day to die as any,” Ramsey muttered.

As Percy sped up slightly, buildings zipping past in a sickening blur. “40 miles per hour, check surroundings, bumpers aligned,” Percy said under her breath. “And go.” The nose of the car inched over until it connected with the SUV, making a loud clang. Once she made a sharp turn, the SUV whipped around, making Ramsey dizzy. It spun in circles across the street, smoke rising from the tires. He saw the woman’s face for a moment. Eyes wide and tongue held between her teeth. Without even a pause, Morez turned the movement into a graceful u-turn, barrelling down the street in the opposite direction and skidding around a corner.

“ _ Of course _ she had to be an excellent driver!” Meryl said, throwing her hands up in frustration.

Percy made a smooth turn, although it still made Ramsey a little nauseous. Clearing an intersection, Percy gazed back and forth over the road ahead, the SUV nowhere to be seen. It was surprising to hear Percy hiss a few expletives. Without a word, she came to an abrupt halt and darted out of the car. Below her feet, a parapet shot from the ground and thrust her into the air. She landed on the roof of the nearby post office with the elegance of a cat and dashed across, leaping to a neighboring roof like some over-the-top anime character with the help of her parapets.

Ramsey and Meryl watched in open-mouthed awe until she went out of sight. “So awesome. I forgot she could do that,” the ginger said reverently.

Ramsey’s stomach only allowed him to nod in agreement. He fumbled with his seatbelt and the door, finally stumbling out into the open air. It was quiet. Taking a few shaky breaths, he crouched with his head between his knees until the queasiness in his gut went down. With the passing of a few minutes, he felt well enough to sit up and stretch his back, able to breathe easily again.

Meryl was standing beside him, looking at him with something that could be called sympathy. “Do you get motion sick?”

More like overwhelmingly anxious. “Eh, something like that. Comorbid, really.”

Shrugging, Meryl stared blankly out at the road. That was the second time that she had shown some sort of concern for him, however detached. Ramsey gazed at the patch of gravel where the parapet had sunk back into the ground. Geez, he couldn’t quite get a read on the lady. She’d always be right there, all bright and happy, and then she’d suddenly get all distant and say something... nice.

May as well not dwell on it. He folded his arms across his knees, resting his cheek on his forearm, staring after the spot that he last saw Percy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys remember in part 2 where I said I was missing four teeth? Well I finally got the crowns today, so now I have a full smile with all 28 teeth! I no longer look like a checkerboard or a jack-o-lantern! So yeah, that's all that's happening in the life of Snazzy. :3


	6. Chapter 6

Just around that corner. No, maybe just past that building. No, no, no. That way. Nothing. Percy skidded to a stop and released a heavy stream of air between her teeth. Any energy or momentum she had slammed into a brick wall. It was bad enough that they lost Morez in Arrieta of all places. Egads, that woman was fast. Ah, but Percy was only delayed, not defeated. She hopped off the roof she was on and landed on the parapet that rose to meet her, deciding to take the time to recuperate. She was feeling tired, after all. Though she hadn’t constructed any magical towers, the chase had still taken roughly a quarter portion of her stamina, not to mention her physical endurance. With a dejected sigh, she started the walk back toward the car.

Meryl started at her approach and Ramsey looked up, both waiting for an update.

There wasn’t much to say except that she failed. “Lost her.”

“Hm.” Meryl bit her lip. “What do you want to do?”

“Inform the police station in this town, then probably report back to base unless we can pick up the lead again today.”

“Sounds good to me, Perc’.”

Pausing as her fingers brushed the handle of the car door, Percy turned to a sick-looking Ramsey. “Are you alright?”

Ramsey looked startled, but quickly shrugged it off as he stood. “Huh? Oh, I just… really hate cars.”

“Why do you hate cars?” Meryl asked with a chuckle. “They’re revolutionary inventions for convenient travel.”

Ramsey stuttered a few syllables.

“Well, we _were_ in an accident a few months ago, as you remember,” Percy said quietly.

Meryl put a hand to her mouth apologetically. “Oh yeah, sorry—”

“It’s a funny story, actually.” He stared at the pavement as if it was only a glass case holding past memories.

Percy was certainly surprised to hear him say that. He wasn’t the type to open up very easily.

“We could use a funny story,” Meryl said, casually leaning against the cruiser.

Ramsey had the _oh geez what have I gotten myself into_ face, but started to speak. “I was six or seven, maybe, and my mom thought it would be a good day to teach me about road safety. Can’t have your kids gettin’ run over, yeah?” He folded his arms and leaned against the car as well without a trace of a smile on his face. “Well, she thought it would be a good idea to shove me into the road in front of an oncoming car, then she yanked me out of the way just as the car swerved. Learned my lesson. Looked both ways every time.”

Meryl’s face fell. “Wait, that’s not funny. That sounds like child abuse.”

He shrugged. “Eh, I didn’t get hurt.” He looked away, but Percy heard him chuckle quietly and darkly. “What’s funny about that story is that someone would do that to their own kid. That woman was a comedian in a league of her own.”

Percy glanced at Meryl with her mouth open, but no words coming out. She wasn’t sure what to say after hearing that. She could count on one hand how many times he had talked about his childhood, and he was always incredibly vague, downplaying each bad experience. Walking to his side, she wrapped her arms around him and he seemed to lighten up immediately.

“Heh, thanks, doll.”

“Ya know,” Meryl started, pointing east, “the police station is just two blocks away from here. We can walk if you want a sec to cool off. It only takes, like, three minutes.”

“Really? You guys are good with that?”

Percy took his hand. “Yes, of course. Let’s go.” She was relieved at the way his posture loosened and seemed more calm. It was irresponsible of her to take Ramsey into a situation that would be so stressful for him. She gulped, sharing in his unease. Before Meryl caught up to them, she leaned over to whisper. “I’m sorry, Ramsey. I knew you get nervous around cars, but I didn’t know—”

“I’m fine,” he murmured back.

“You don’t seem fine.” She gave his hand a squeeze. “You can always talk to me. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

He tugged at the collar of his hoodie. “I’m okay. I can always suck it up just enough. See? I didn’t even have a full-on anxiety attack this time.” He grinned and gave her a nudge at her concerned look. “Hey, I worry about you, too. How much stamina did all that use up?”

She flushed slightly. “Only a small amount.”

“Okay, just make sure to get some rest, yeah?” he said with a playful prod at her ribs. “I always gotta keep an eye on you to make sure you don’t run yourself ragged.”

“He’s right, you know,” Meryl said.

“You two are insufferable,” Percy grumbled. But yes, she did suppose that there was a ring of truth to that. It just made her a little flustered when people pointed it out, but it was nice that she had two good friends to watch out for her.

The air was getting cooler as the sun was starting to set and Percy noticed how quiet it was. Comparing Arietta to Sweet Jazz, the diminished volume of traffic was significantly noticeable. She appreciated the quiet. She had certainly chosen an intense profession where things were very loud at times, but it made those moments of white noise all the sweeter.

The police station, as expected, was less than half the size of what she was used to. “You two can take a break,” she said, striding to the doors. “I suppose it only takes one person to give them an update.” That and she wanted a minute alone to give Molly a call just to check up on her.

“Sounds good to me!” Meryl said, collapsing on the bench just outside. “I could fall asleep standing up!”

“Alright. I’ll be seeing you.” Percy walked through the doors and spoke to an officer. She asked to speak to the chief, but he was busy for the time being and would be available in about fifteen minutes. Thinking it would be a good opportunity, she pulled out her phone and dialed Molly. Unfortunately, it went to voicemail, so she called Sylvie instead.

A cordial voice greeted her. “Hello, this is Dr. Sylvester Ashling speaking. How can I help you?”

Percy smiled and held back a small laugh. The boy always went out of his way to sound intelligent and mature, which she found to be quite endearing. Thinking back, she was probably the same way when she was younger.

“This is Percy. I just wanted to check on Molly, but she didn’t pick up when I called.”

Sylvie chuckled. “Yeah, she’s asleep already! We were watching a movie and she was out cold halfway through.”

“What movie?”

“ _12 Angry Men._ ”

What a coincidence. That was one of Percy’s favorites, actually. “Ah, for its moral complexity and commentary on justice, I take it.”

“I particularly enjoy the message of human worth, but Molly just thought it was boring,” he said with a laugh. “I think she’s more of a cartoon connoisseur.”

Percy shifted her weight slightly. “Actually, while I have you on the line, I’d like to talk about her for a moment.”

His voice switched to concern. “I-is something wrong?”

Percy’s shoulders sagged under the weight of her thoughts. There were times she just felt like she let everyone down, and with Molly, it was just so difficult… “Well, she—she could use a little help right now. I was hoping you could talk her through things better than I could…” She took a deep breath. “Molly asked me if I would still love her even if she did things that I don’t approve of. She has this idea that she doesn’t deserve affection unless she earns it.”

“Yes, that’s common among children who have experienced emotional abuse, a precedent set by her father no doubt.”

“I see.”

“I’ll talk to her. Make sure to give her frequent positive affirmations. And that the other adults in her life do that as well. She probably wants to feel valued by her new parental figures and role models. Also, don’t condemn her for any mistakes she makes. Guide her through instead. Um… yeah that should be all for now. I’ll talk to her tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you so much, Sylvie,” Percy said. It caught her by surprise the way her voice wavered. She swallowed, trying to sound calm. “Your help really means a lot. I just want her to be happy.”

Sylvie stammered and she could imagine him probably turning pink at the other end of the line. “S-sure! Of course! She—she’s my closest friend, after all!”

“Thank you again. Goodbye.”

“Bye.”

Percy lowered her phone, staring at the screen for a moment. She felt heavy, her eyes filling with hot tears. Shoving the phone in her pocket, she pressed her face into her sleeves with a deep, shaky breath. Why was she crying? It was a good thing that Sylvie was helping. The heartache she felt for that girl was so intense. She loved Molly so much and just wanted to help her through life. Pondering for a moment, Percy wondered what Molly would think about adoption. Oh, thinking about that made more tears spill.

“Are you alright, miss?” The officer she had spoken to earlier was standing in front of her.

Percy whipped her face up, changing to a blank expression. “Yes.”

The woman took a step back. “Well, the chief is ready to speak to you now. His office is just down this hall.”

“Thank you.”

***

Meryl tried to appear completely passive, but Ramsey noticed the way she flinched when he sat on the other side of the bench. He stretched his legs out and stared at his hands in the awkward silence. Not that he was one of those people that wanted to be liked by everyone—he chose the completely wrong path if he wanted that—but he kinda wanted to be liked by Meryl. Or at least tolerated. She was Percy’s friend, after all. He wanted to say something to smooth things over, but he couldn’t think of what.

Meryl pulled her hair out of its bun, letting it fall in a long sheet down her back. It had been coming loose over the events of the day. She combed her fingers through it and just as she started to redo it—SNAP.

“Aw man!” She held the broken hair elastic in her hand, now limp and useless. “Guess my hair will just be in my face today.”

Ramsey dug in his pocket. “Here, I’ve got an extra.”

Meryl stared at his hand for a long moment before accepting the elastic. “Uh, thanks.” As she began to tie her hair back up, she held back a chortle. Then it became a snicker. Then she burst out laughing.

Ramsey found himself chuckling too. Eh, it was sort of a funny situation.

“I was _not_ expecting that!” Meryl gasped between peals of laughter.

“What? Lots of dudes have ponytails,” he said with a shrug and a grin.

“No, not that! Well, kind of that, but I wasn’t expecting you to help me out with something so mundane.”

He flashed a pair of finger guns. “Yeah, I’m just cool like that.”

Meryl’s laughter died down and a contemplative look filled her eyes. “I wasn’t expecting you to be like this at all.” She pulled the coin out and flipped it between her fingers.

“Huh? Like what?”

Finishing the bun, she clasped her hands in her lap and gazed away from him. Her voice became quiet. “When Percy first arrested you at Redwood, I was happy. I thought it was one less piece of garbage off the streets, especially with your bounty as high as it was.” Her shoulders dropped and she redirected her gaze to her hands. “I thought that you were an awful person. I was terrified of you and what you were capable of. And then when I found out you became fast friends with Percy after a week, it was only more reason to hate you.”

Voice rising slightly in volume, she finally looked up at him. “I mean, if some criminal could become close with my role model in a fraction of the time it’s taking me, then what the hell is wrong with me?”

Ramsey wasn’t sure what to say. He never knew about all that resentment she was building against him, had no idea that his existence affected her so much. “I’m sorry, I guess,” he said, staring back at his hands. “This whole situation _is_ pretty weird.”

“N-no. It’s all me.” She leaned forward to brace her elbows on her thighs, her ginger hair swinging at the motion. “I just really despise criminals.”

“Then why base a career around them?”

She gently placed a hand on her eyepatch with a misty smile. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”

Oh boy, they were going straight into backstories. “Heh. Crazy story, actually,” he started, leaning back. “So, twelve years ago I sold some fake gold to the mafia, yeah? Big mistake. The dude’s daughter came after me while I was in the middle of another con and tried to slit my throat open. Got away, but then she found a pipe. She hit me upside the head, ripped my face open, and busted a tooth out. Got a lovely concussion and a healthy dose of paranoia, too.” He laced his fingers behind his head. “And that’s the story of how I got to look so drop-dead gorgeous.”

She giggled. “Yeah, yeah, you’ve got a face for radio.” Meryl raised a hand to her eyepatch once again, a dark look crossing her face. “I guess it’s my turn, now.” She bit her lip, thinking before she spoke. “I wanted to be a doctor more than anything, back in the day. Then, the second year of my undergrad, my roommate introduced me to a friend’s roommate’s friend, or something like that. It was Percy.”

Meryl smiled fondly, and Ramsey did the same. “Heh. Hard to imagine either of you being social.”

“Yeah, we were goin’ crazy back then actually _talking to people_!” Meryl joked. “She was so cool. Soft-spoken, but when you got her to talk, she said the most intelligent things. And also the most hilariously awkward things. I made it my goal to get her to talk more often, and oh boy, I struck gold when I mentioned the kidnapping case that was happening in town at the time. From then on, I hardly had to say a word before she would talk for hours about police work. Eventually, she brainwashed me or something, ‘cause I decided to be a cop, too.”

“I had no idea you guys knew each other for so long,” Ramsey said.

“Six years, but sometimes I still feel like there’s a two-way mirror between us, and she’s on the reflecting side.”

“She tends to block herself off in a little world of her own, but she really does like you,” he offered. “Whenever she talks about work, she’s usually talking about you and how proud she is when she has a good conversation with you. What does she call it? A ‘successful social interaction: friendship edition.’ Or somethin’ like that.”

Meryl grinned. “That sounds like her, alright.” 

“Heh, I absolutely adore that woman.”

“Yeah. We were lucky enough to be partners on every case at the beginning. We were mostly meter maids since we were just the newbies, but I eventually got assigned to something cool. It was actually the first thing that Percy wasn’t with me for.” Sitting up straight, she crossed her arms, the smile dripping away. “I was assigned as a guard at the museum. We had reasonable suspicion that someone was going to steal that night. And sure enough, they came.”

A cold stone settled in Ramsey’s stomach. He had a feeling he knew where the story was going.

Unable to keep up the casual facade, Meryl’s brow furrowed. “He… he grabbed me from behind then pinned me to the ground. He had a box cutter...” She squeezed her eye shut and put a fist to her mouth, shaking her head slightly. “He had me out of the way. I didn’t see his face or hear his voice. I just don’t understand why he had to take that extra step when he could have just left me. But if someone’s willing to steal, then what’s a human life, right? Afterward, I spent all my waking moments on target practice until I was sure I could shoot any criminal clean through the eye from a hundred yards away.”

Ramsey felt sick just thinking about it. How brutal. He always thought he wasn’t all that bad just stealing, but to Meryl, he was only ever a step away from violence. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

She shrugged. “I guess I’m okay now. Had to take a few months off work to recover. It took ages for me to be brave enough to show my face at the station, let alone handle a case. But I think once the worst was over, I came back stronger than ever. And Percy was with me every step of the way.”

They fell into a silence, but it was one without any tension. One with a new understanding. “Did the guy get caught?” he finally asked.

“Yes, but he got a light sentence and he's out in the world again. I think testifying in court was almost worse than that night itself.”

Ramsey knew the feeling. When the Abbandonatos were arrested all those months earlier, testifying in court about the murder attempt from over a decade ago was off-putting, to say the least. Like trying to run a marathon without any gravity. “Out of curiosity,” he began, “why’d you go with an eye patch? I had one for a couple weeks, but a prosthetic felt nicer.”

“Oh, I couldn’t get one,” she said.

“Did the thought of stickin’ something in your eye socket gross you out?” he asked. “It’s just like putting in contacts. Except it’s a whole eye.”

“Yeah, the thought did gross me out,” she said with a faint smile, “but that’s not why.” Her fingers rose to her eyepatch and she gently removed it. “You see, he didn’t just cut me.” She turned to face him. “He mutilated me.”

Ramsey’s heart skipped a beat. Her left eye was barely identifiable as an eye socket. It was savagely lacerated beyond recognition. She rolled up her long sleeves to reveal similar scars up her arms and lifted her shirt slightly to show scars criss-crossing up her sides.

He must have had a horrified look on his face, because Meryl quickly replaced the eyepatch with an awkward grimace. “Sorry, it’s a little freaky.”

“No, no, i-it’s fine,” he stammered, trying to hide his shock. The whole thing was sickeningly barbaric. There must have been a lot of blood. “You have my empathy. I… I get why you’re scared of me.”

Meryl pushed her glasses up with an amiable smile. “Used to be. I guess Percy was right. After knowing you all these months, it’s about time I finally get to know you.” She raised a fist toward him. “Maybe we could be… acquaintances?”

He bumped her fist with his. “Yeah. Acquaintances sounds good.”

***

Percy released a sigh, finally letting her posture relax. Explaining the situation to the chief, she had been so stiff. It had always been nerve-wracking talking to authority figures that she wasn’t familiar with, and especially so with such responsibility on her shoulders. But it was over and she did it. She tapped the sides of her legs until she stepped outside and out of view of the surrounding officers before she burst out into a full-on nervous hand flap. To the right, she saw her two partners sitting on a bench, looking… friendly. Actually friendly! They must have chatted while she was gone, because they no longer seemed tense or awkward. She smiled, glad that they could smooth things over.

“Went well, I take it?” Meryl asked, looking up.

Percy abruptly stopped her hand flapping. “Yes. I was able to adequately explain the situation. No one has reported any further leads regarding the incident, but they will update us if they find anything. They were also kind enough to warn some other surrounding towns to be on the lookout.” She waited for them to stand up before starting to walk back to the car. “For now, we shall report back home.”

“Sweet,” Ramsey said, stretching. “I dunno if my poor heart can take any more excitement for today.”

Percy took his hand, enjoying the warmth she felt. Although it was still summer, the nights were starting to grow colder. “Can you handle the excitement of a drive back home?”

“Sheesh, I’ll be fine. No need to worry about me,” he said with a shrug.

“Okay.” It would be a more benign ride, after all, since they wouldn’t be going thirty over the speed limit in pursuit. It would also be a bit longer, though, for the same reason. They had blasted through an hour and twenty minute long drive in about fifty minutes. The cruiser looked almost blue from the dimming light. “Hey, Meryl, can you drive please?” Percy didn’t want to admit it, but she was quite tuckered out.

The ginger raised her hand to catch the keys that Percy tossed. “Sure.”

“Wait, you can drive?” Ramsey asked, astonished.

“Um, yeah? Need to see my drivers’ license or something?” Meryl asked awkwardly as she unlocked the car, then she paused. “Oh, you mean with the eye, right?”

Ramsey nodded.

“I dunno. I just had to get used to turning my head extra far to check my blindspots,” she said, rubbing the back of her neck. “If you aren’t careful, you’ll pull a muscle.”

“Oh. I wasn’t ever brave enough to try drivin’ again,” he mumbled.

“I can teach ya,” she said, giving the keys a jingle. “There’s an empty parking lot at that abandoned supermarket downtown.”

“Heh, maybe.”

“I’m off work next Monday.”

“Ah geez, it’s all happening so fast,” he griped. “I’ll think on it.”

“Cool.”

As they all buckled their seatbelts, Percy tried to hide an amused smile. Imagine Ramsey actually driving again with Meryl teaching him from the passenger seat. Like drivers’ ed all over again. The idea seemed humorous, but it would actually be nice to see him give it a try. Not that a lot of people even had cars in Sweet Jazz. The average person typically took a bus or bike to work or school, although a good portion of the population still bothered to get a car, but maybe it would help him overcome some of his fears.

It was relaxing for Percy to take a moment and close her eyes while Meryl took care of the driving. There was a comfortable hum from the engine and the occasional _woosh_ of a car passing by.

Meryl’s voice cut through the noise. “Heh, if you do the math, the average person in this car has 1.3 eyes.”

Percy snorted. “You’re funny, Meryl.”

Meryl snorted as well. “Don’t worry, I know that joke was pretty lame.”

“But I thought it was funny.”

“Thanks.”

Percy looked over her shoulder to see Ramsey snoozing away in the backseat. How? It had been fifteen minutes! It was kind of cute, seeing him so relaxed. “I swear, that man can fall asleep at the drop of a hat.”

Meryl glanced in the rearview mirror. “Where can I learn this power?”

“I think it’s resultant of constant sleep deprivation and a lack of a defined sleep schedule.”

“But I already do that.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Meryl laughed again, falling back into silence.

“What did you two talk about?” Percy asked.

“Huh?”

She shifted in her seat. “When I came out of the station, I noticed that you two were pleasantly chatting.”

Meryl shrugged with a faint smile. “Oh, we just talked about life. About you a bit. You’ll be pleased to hear that we have decided to become acquaintances.” She huffed a small laugh. “You were right all along, Perc’. He’s not all that bad.”

Percy couldn’t hold back the grin that broke across her face. “I’m glad you think so.”

“But, I’m still gonna keep one eye on him at all times. Just in case.”

“But Meryl, you only _have_ one eye.”

She flashed a knowing look. “Yeah, like I said. One eye.”

“I think you’re funny.”

“Oh, Perc’, you flatter me and my lame jokes.”

Percy glanced once again to the backseat. Her cheeks heated up as she remembered the conversation she had been meaning to have. If she just went ahead and said it, she would feel better. Or at least that’s what she told herself. Her heart began to feel increasingly present. “Meryl?”

“Hm?”

“Do you remember earlier when I asked you about making an engagement with someone?”

Meryl cocked her head. “You know, I’m not exactly a social guru, but I’ll help you out best I can.”

Well, anything she came up with was probably better than what Percy could come up with, so she pressed onward. “Well, that engagement is with Ramsey and I don’t know how to ask him about it.”

“Hey, Ramsey! You’re asleep, right?” Meryl asked, looking in the rearview mirror. He didn’t stir, so she motioned for Percy to keep going.

Lowering her voice, Percy tried to think of how to word things without being too painfully obvious. She hated the fact that her cheeks were probably bright red, but it was dark anyway. “Well, I was wondering if you could ask him a general question to gage what his thoughts are about it, because I haven’t the foggiest idea what he thinks about this specific circumstance.”

“Sure I could do that. What do I need to ask him?” she asked, giving her a glance before staring back at the road.

Percy spoke even more softly. If Ramsey happened to wake up and hear their conversation, she would most assuredly die of embarrassment. “Well, I need to know what he thinks about marriage.”

“Hrrk!” The car swerved slightly as Meryl choked on a random array of syllables. “What?”

“Keep it down!” Percy whispered.

Meryl repeated her query a few decibels quieter. “What? You—you—you wanna what?”

“Need I say it again?”

Meryl laughed in an almost manic manner. “I heard you fine the first time. I just can’t believe what I’m hearing! Perc’—I was thinking social engagement, but this is an actual _engagement_!”

She wasn’t quite sure what Meryl’s astonishment meant. “Oh no, is it that bad?”

“No, no it’s good, it’s just that I didn’t know you two were that close.” Meryl excitedly brushed her bangs out of her face. “I mean, I knew you were close, but I didn’t know you were _that_ close. This whole time I’ve been third-wheeling, I had no idea—”

“Be quieter please,” Percy pleaded.

“Okay, okay, sorry,” Meryl said, barely above a whisper. She giggled softly. “You’re getting awfully defensive, Perc’. Are you embarrassed?”

“Hm.” Percy had to think for a moment. How _did_ she feel about it? It was impossible to put it all in one word. She just felt so intensely and it all pounded through her heart in a highly pressurized wave. “I suppose I’m a little embarrassed,” she said, glancing to the backseat again. “I think that I’m mostly scared. We’ve been through a lot together, but this would be a gargantuan milestone… I don’t know if he’s ready for that level of commitment or if he even wants it.”

“Do _you_ want it?”

“I—yes. I… Am _I_ ready? I...” she felt as if the whole world came to a stop and the only things that existed were the three people in that car in that moment. “I really love him and I can’t imagine a life without him.”

Meryl bit her lip, staying quiet for a moment. “I’m not really sure if I can ask him about this. I think that _you’ll_ have to do it for something this big.”

Percy’s stomach sank in a cold pit. That’s what she was afraid of hearing.

“But what you said right there? That’s perfect. Just tell him that. Talk a bit about marriage first, and then tell him that.” Meryl smiled softly. “He told me that he adores you, if that helps.”

Percy was convinced she was melting. “He said that?”

“Yup.”

“Oh.” She was actually quite pleased to hear that, feeling a buzz through her system. Percy realized that she was rocking in her seat as much as the seat belt would allow, so she decided to flap her hands instead. There was simply too much nervous energy that needed to be expended. “Okay,” she said, slightly out of breath from her rapidly pumping heart. “Just talk, then say that, then ask.”

“Yeah. That’ll be great. Try doing it incrementally, though.”

“Incrementally,” she repeated, copying Meryl’s enunciation.

“You got this.”

“I got this. Wait, _do_ I got this?”

“Perc’, you go get this man!”

“Okay. If you say so.”

“Wait, he’s still asleep, right?”

Percy looked over her shoulder and sure enough, Ramsey was still out cold. Thank goodness. It was probably risky circumstances to have such a high-stakes conversation in, but it worked out fine.

She wondered… would they ever become a family? Percy, Ramsey, and Molly. It sounded like a wonderful dream. “I think it would be good for Molly, too,” Percy thought aloud.

“Getting hitched?”

Percy nodded. “She and Ramsey get along really well and it would be good for her to have all the support she can get.” She fiddled with the buttons on her shirt. “I just really worry about her.”

“Is she doing alright?” Meryl asked, concern making her voice slightly strained.

“She’s generally quite happy and has a good attitude, but…” Percy shrugged. “She struggles with self worth.”

Meryl clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Tch. It’s really too bad that some kids end up with awful parents.”

“I fear that I’m only making it worse.” Percy’s voice surprised her by shaking.

“What do you mean?” The following silence emphasized the incredulity in Meryl’s voice.

Iron claws gripped at her chest and she turned away, feeling an overwhelming mix of frustration and failure. “I—I’m just not there for her enough.”

“But that girl loves you!” Meryl protested. “Have you seen the way she completely lights up whenever you see each other?”

“I’m not oblivious!” She hadn’t meant to snap, but to her horror, her mouth kept moving. “I know that I always get caught up in the rhythm of work and get emotionally distant! Look where she is right now! The foster parenting rules prevent me from leaving her without supervision because she’s not old enough, so I’m always leaving her with someone else while I work. I’m essentially telling her that work is more important.” Her voice broke. “I’m just like her father.”

“Percy, open your eyes!” Meryl pleaded. “You talk about her all the time and you’re always doing things to help her out! I’m amazed that you can even balance work with parenting.”

Hearing such undeserved praise made Percy wince. “Of course I care for her, but that’s only fulfilling the basic expectations of being a parent. Molly requires more care because of her past. It’s just the simple truth that I’m not emotionally equipped to do this. I’m a wrong person.” Folding her arms tightly around herself, she looked over her shoulder. “Ramsey has always been better with emotions. He hates talking about himself, but he always talks things through with me when I struggle. And I’m fairly certain that he talks with Molly a lot too. I’m unable to have the conversations with her that will actually help her.”

The silence between them aged bitterly and Percy couldn’t help but relish in it for a moment. There. It was out. She said it.

“Percy… Is it alright if we talk about your autism for a minute?”

Percy nodded almost imperceptibly. That was the root of the problem, after all. Sometimes, she really wished that she didn’t have to be different. There was always a tug-of-war going on in her mind. Autistic and proud. Autistic and she hated herself for it. Neurotypicals had it so easy. They never had to question whether they were fundamentally damaged or set up for failure from birth. It was because of this that she rarely confided in others. Meryl was one of the few people that knew.

“First off,” Meryl began, “I want to make it clear that I’m not condemning you or trying to ‘fix’ you. I know that you struggle with these emotional things and I’d like to help you feel at peace with yourself and feel like you’re capable of emotionally supporting those you love.”

Percy nodded.

“Well, heh, I’m still a bit of a doctor at heart, so I like to keep up on the medical scene, you know? Read some new research articles here and there.” She tugged at her collar with a chuckle. “I’m a little embarrassed to say, but I kind of idolized you back in our college days. Still do. I thought you were so cool, and when you told me you were autistic, I wanted to learn all about it. I have an entire folder on my laptop dedicated to autism research.”

She had actually researched it? Percy was pleasantly surprised. Most people relied on what they had heard about it when she told them, which often led to misinformation and bias.

Meryl continued. “I know that emotional distance is something you struggle with. I have a couple research articles about it that I can send to you, but I remember one doctor saying that addressing concerns about emotional distance with loved ones is a healthy way to work through things and avoid miscommunication. You can each specify your emotional needs and explain your behaviors so that they aren’t misinterpreted.”

Percy nodded.

“Starting a conversation can be awkward, but speaking candidly can lead to problem solving. And, that strategy has the added benefit to playing to autistic peoples’ strengths,” she said with a sweet smile. “But I can guarantee you that if you choose to talk, Molly will listen and understand.”

Percy pressed her temples. That… was a comfort. She could never be sure, but now knowing that people would understand was a comfort. She never knew how people would react to things. There was a light at the end of the tunnel. Her anguish was always so overpowering, but it wouldn’t last forever. “...Thanks, Meryl. You’re a good friend.”

“Of course. I always have your back.”

Familiar city lights began to ward off some of the darkness and soon enough, they were back at the police station. Stifling a yawn, Percy heard Ramsey start to wake up.

“Are we there yet?” he groaned, tugging at his seat belt.

Reaching for the case file, Meryl replied with, “Yeah.”

“Ah geez. You make the one of us with the longest legs sit in the back.”

“Only people with cool badges get to sit up front,” Meryl shot back.

He lazily grinned. “I can _make_ myself a cool badge… except I won’t because that’s probably illegal.”

Meryl shared a look with Percy, raising an eyebrow. “Quite the catch you got there,” she quietly joked.

“Eh?”

“Anyway, I’ll get Eros updated,” Meryl said, stepping out of the car. “You can head home.”

“Thank you,” Percy said, catching the keys. She found herself incredibly grateful for the favor. And the friend doing that favor.

“‘Till next time. Stay frosty.” With that, Meryl strode into the station.

Percy sighed, taking a moment to rub her temples. “You can sit up front now, Ramsey.” She stepped out and slid into the driver’s seat.

“Yay.”

Just a little more until she could collapse in her bed. Exhaustion made her limbs feel heavy and her brain kept falling into periods of nothing. Nothing except for that feeling of despair that tainted every fiber of her being. She just had so much to think about.

“So Molly’s with Sylvie,” Ramsey said, breaking the silence.

No need to remind her. “Yes.”

“So, you wanna—”

Percy smiled, feeling a little lighter. It would be nice to be alone with Ramsey for a while. “Yes.”

Ramsey grinned. “You must know me so well.”

_Not well enough_ , she thought. _Not enough to predict what you’ll think._

Ramsey tapped her shoulder with his knuckles, making her jump. “You’ve got that face on.”

“What face?”

“Your thinking face. Got something on your mind, doll?”

How could he always read her like a book? “A lot of things, actually.”

“...You wanna talk?”

“Well, that’s certainly the question.”

“What does _that_ mean?”

As Percy parked the car, she took the conversational pause of stepping out the door to figure out what that did mean. It perfectly described how she felt, but she had no idea how. They quietly walked up the metal stairs and after a cool breeze tousled her hair, she finally spoke. “I suppose that I would like to divulge my concerns to you, but they are all so heavy and so many in number that I’m afraid to say anything. I don’t know where to get started.”

“Welp, you unload emotional baggage one suitcase at a time,” he said, following her into her apartment. “So wherever you wanna start, I’ll listen.

Her heart was leaping in her chest, palpitating with all the thoughts running wildly through her mind. The inside of her head was unbearably loud. Speak candidly. Yeah, she could do that. “Well…” She stopped in the front room, her back turned to him. “I feel like a failure.”


	7. Chapter 7

Ramsey didn’t know what to say at first. A failure? How? He wanted to ask in what way to simply satisfy his curiosity, but that would probably be a bad move. He touched her shoulder as she stared determinedly at the ground. “I don’t think you’re a failure,” he said softly.

Percy stayed still, rapidly blinking tears away. “Well I—I can read other people’s emotions in the moment when I have physical evidence, but—but I feel like I’m blind otherwise, and—” The words piled out in a messy, broken heap. “That’s where all the problems start.” Her breathing sped up as she struggled to speak.

With a hand at the small of her back, he led her to sit down on the couch. “Hey, hey, slow down. Deep breaths.”

“O-okay.” Her voice was strained, pushed to the edge of its capabilities. “I feel like I’m on the verge of a shutdown.”

“You don’t have to say anything, then.” He touched her arm to test the waters, and when she leaned into his touch, he pulled her into a hug. “Let’s enjoy the exquisite sound of silence.” He could feel just how much she was shaking and it made him anxious too, but he did his best to stay calm. She rocked back and forth slightly and after a few minutes, switched to rubbing and twisting the hem of his shirt. As he ran a hand up and down her back, he noticed that she was breathing to the rhythm of his heartbeat. Four beats, inhale, four beats, exhale. In the relative quiet of the night, it was as if they were the only two people in the world.

“Okay, I can talk now,” she said stilly.

“What’s on your mind, Percy?”

“I am inadequate to the task of parenting.”

It pained Ramsey to see her so distraught. “I don’t understand why you think that?”

Pressing her cheek into his shoulder, she shuddered. “This morning, I had a conversation with Molly while I was taking her home. She feels like she doesn’t deserve love, so I assured her that she does. But I don’t think that adequately solved the problem or even got to the root of it. I never figured out why. I think that I’m not present enough for her, emotionally or physically.”

That was a lot of luggage to unload. “What did you tell her?”

“That my love for her is unconditional.”

“Now that’s a great thing to let her know,” he said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. “She’s feeling insecure about being loved, so that probably gave her the comfort she needed to hear.”

A timid smile crossed Percy’s face. “That was good?”

“Yeah.”

“But why do I feel like there’s more that I’m just not understanding?”

Ramsey thought back to his conversation with Molly the previous night, wanting badly to tell Percy. If that girl could ask for help, of course they’d give it to her, but she wanted the time alone to figure things out. He couldn’t blame her. He’d been the same way when he was younger. “She’s going through a lot right now, stuff that she doesn’t entirely understand herself, so she’s trying to figure it out,” he said. “She’s really independent, so it’s probably intimidating for her to tell you about things. But knowing that you’re there? I think that’s enough for her until she’s ready to talk to you.” He brushed her hair out of her face and it was getting long enough that he could just tuck it behind her ear. “You don’t have to figure everything out now. For some people, just being with them is connection enough.”

“Oh, so she’s like you then.” She giggled as the tips of his ears turned pink.

“Heh, guess so.”

“I think I understand better now.” She brought her arms around his torso, making his heart leap. “That’s comforting to know because I wasn’t sure if I handled things correctly.”

“Nah, we love you for who you are.”

Percy closed her eyes and leaned against him. “Do you talk to her? About emotions, I mean.”

“Yeah, a bit. Heh, you won’t believe how hard it is to coax things out of her.”

“Mm.” There was less strain in her face. “I… I’ve been thinking about adopting her.”

“Really? That’s awesome! The process takes a while though, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, a few months sometimes. However, I haven’t talked to her about it yet. There’s so much to talk about.” As she stood, his hand trailed down her side. “I think we should brush our teeth now.”

Ramsey grinned. Classic Percy. He followed her to the bathroom, where she pulled one of many extra toothbrushes out of a drawer and handed it to him. The toothpaste was very minty. He watched her as she stared blankly in the mirror. There were so many times that she zeroed in on her shortcomings, but he hoped that he could make her feel important. Because she was.

He quickly changed into the sweats and shirt she lent him, kinda excited to spend the night with her. Okay, maybe a lot excited. There were bubbles in his lungs. As soon as he stepped out of the bathroom, Percy took his hand and pulled him into her room.

“Guess what?” she asked with a beam. “I found my spare uniform! I suppose that I thought I left it in the closet, but I found it in the laundry basket, which is something that I need to do tomorrow.”

“That’s great,” Ramsey said, having no idea what she was talking about but being happy for her anyway.

Flipping the light switch off, she rolled into bed. “I was going to wear it earlier, but I couldn’t find it, but now everything is back in place. That is all.”

Ramsey laid beside her, grinning stupidly at her in the dark. “Yes, please hold me,” he said when she wrapped her arms around him.

Percy laughed, giving him a little squeeze. “Okay, I’m 99% certain that your love language is physical touch.”

“I’ll bet that you’re right.” Being pressed against Percy, he felt all his sorrows melt away. It was like loneliness was unheard of and pain never existed. The rest of the world didn’t matter for all he cared. Just touching her and having her right there made him feel so worthwhile.

It could be like this all the time. His heart froze and he pulled her a little closer, if that was possible. Should he just suck it up and ask her about marriage? Or would that ruin everything? Well, they were literally cuddling, so what would be one more rung up the ladder? It would be really nice. Yeah. Not like an artist made a ton of cash, but he could pay for groceries and since he worked from home, he would always be there for Molly while Percy was at work. Nice. And also he would never be afraid of being alone again. Not that he was super insecure or anything.

Okay, maybe a bit insecure.

Perhaps he would eventually build up the courage to have that conversation, but it was for another day. For that moment, he thought he could at least take a first step.

“I really love you, Percy,” he said quietly. “And I know you’re a caring person and a great parent, even though the circumstances are tough.”

“I think you’re the first person in my life to always believe in me without question.” Her voice was warm and misty. “It means a lot to me.”

A little surprised to hear that, Ramsey was at a momentary loss for words. “Uh, uh, sure. I mean, of course I do.”

“No, really. You mean the world to me.”

“Ah, geez.” He stopped himself before chewing his cheek, feeling a little warmer.

She hummed a soft laugh. “You sell yourself short.”

“Ironic, eh? Considering I used to do sales pitches for a living.”

“My gosh, Ramsey.”

He snickered when she gave him a nudge.

“In all seriousness,” she said, “I value your support so much.” Percy rolled onto her back with a tired sigh and he moved his hand to her waist. “It’s a nice change of pace. My… my parents always questioned me first and supported me second only if it was something they approved of.”

Ramsey propped himself up on his elbow, barely making out Percy’s face with the limited light breaking through the curtains. “You know, you never talk about your parents.”

She smiled. “But I told you my life story. Remember? There was a bullet in my abdomen at the time.”

“But you hardly mentioned your family at all,” he said, giving her a teasing prod. “Now me? I talk ‘bout my parents all the time, you know, rahash the trauma.”

“You’ve talked about your parents five times.”

“Including today?”

“Yes.”

He flopped on his back in defeat. “Heh, I stand corrected. But since we’re counting, you’ve talked about your parents twice.”

The corner of her mouth quirked up. “Ah, you got me.” She settled back, her expression mellowing out. “Things were just fine, but I hate to admit that I’ve grown to resent them. And then I feel guilty for doing so because things were… just fine.”

“You don’t have to invalidate your feelings. Sounds like things weren’t ‘just fine.’”

She looked over at him, her eyes very very blue. “I was never sure who’s fault it was when I couldn’t please them.” Taking his hand, she idly traced shapes across his knuckles. “When they got married, they bought a big house expecting to fill it with children. But they had two miscarriages and a stillbirth. When I was born, they thought I was their miracle child and that I would be perfect. Then when I was diagnosed with autism, they gave up on having more. It was the three of us in a big empty house to always remind me.” Her voice fell to an embittered sulk. “I was too hard to deal with. They never accepted me or bothered to understand.”

“Geez, I’m sorry they did that,” he murmured. “You brush it off, but that’s pretty tough.”

“They only ever saw me as disabled, but they always pushed me twice as hard to be perfect. ‘We know that you have executive dysfunction, but stop being lazy and help us in the garden all day. Come and hug all your relatives even though you have sensory issues. If everyone else can do it, then why can’t you?’ That’s all I ever heard from them.” She bit her lip, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. “The only times I felt like they loved me were when I hid my autism best, so that’s what I did for most of my life.”

“I had no idea.” He looked at her with a tepid smile. “I’m kinda glad to hear that I’m not the only one with parental issues.”

“Oh. I was never sure if I should confide in you about this because my parents weren’t abusive like yours, so who was I to complain?”

“Hey, emotional abuse is still abuse, no need to compare. I know ‘cause that was my mom’s absolute favorite.” His chest got all tight and screwed up at the thought. “She’d say, ‘I don’t care. Do it yourself.’ And then ignore me for days on end. And my dad kind of just… never said anything about it. He went to work, and when he came home, he slept the whole time.” Ramsey’s face felt a little warm. “I didn’t have friends in middle school, so there was one time I went seventeen days without speaking at all. Not a single word to anyone.”

Percy closed her eyes, reaching to rub the hem of his shirt. “My parents would never stop talking. They always were telling me to do something or correcting me. Nothing was ever enough for my dad. If I got straight As, he wanted me to also join the debate team or do normal sports like womens’ volleyball instead of swordplay.” Her voice softened slightly, becoming fleecy. “The best days were when my dad was gone and it was just me and my mom. She was always kinder toward me. She let me read the day away in my room and then we would make dinner together. It was nice.”

“For me it was my dad. Before he soaked up mom’s toxicity, that is. But when it was just him and me? He felt like a real dad.” The memories were so bittersweet it was excruciating to taste. “He built cabinets and stuff, so he would take me to the hardware store sometimes. We never talked much, but we didn’t need to. That was the closest I ever felt to him when I just had him to myself.”

“Having nice moments among the stress of it all makes it bearable.”

Ramsey clicked his tongue. “Geez, parents really suck sometimes. Except for you.”

Percy smiled, resting her cheek on his shoulder and bringing her arms around him again. “You too.”

“M-me?”

“Well, I know nothing’s official, but I think you’re a good father to Molly.”

Hearing that made his heart palpitate with a rush of affection. “Thanks. I wasn’t really sure that I counted as a parent.” He laughed. “I mean, if I walked into the foster care office, they’d chuck my application in the bin before they’d even talk to me. I’d fill up the entire criminal record page and would probably have to write on the back too.”

“Well, they’re lame.”

“Heh, thanks.”

It took a second, but he felt his stomach plummet at 3,000 miles per hour. Oh no. The foster care people. _Oh shit._ If he and Percy ever happened to get married, CPS would probably take Molly away. _Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit._ Percy was licensed as a single parent, so they’d have to reregister together as a couple and there was no way in hell he could ever get licensed. Damn, why’d he have to be a criminal? ...Maybe the whole marriage thing was a no-go, then. Well that made not having to ask easier. By making everything else _fifty times harder._

“What are you stressing about now?” Percy asked.

“Er, uh, no-nothing.”

“I can hear your heart rate rising.”

“Uh, I _would_ tell you, but there's, um, like, a thousand hoops to jump through first that leads to me to telling you this one thing. That might take a while.”

“Okay, just feel free to talk when you feel like it,” she hummed. A moment later, her eyes widened and her body stiffened. “Wait a minute.”

“What?”

“I just realized something that I should be stressing about too and it’ll also take a thousand hoops before I tell you.”

Could she read his mind or something? “O-okay, cool. Let’s stress together.”

“How will we ever get some sleep now?”

“Wanna talk about something that’s, uh, not stress-inducing?”

“Like what?”

“Uh…” Everything he wanted to talk about was pumped full of adrenaline, so what was left? “...What’s… your favorite dessert and why?”

She chuckled. “Well, there are several, so first I’ll have to explain all the types and subtypes and what my favorite is from each category…”

Ah, classic Percy.

***

Oh no. The foster care people. Percy knew that if they happened to get married, they’d have to reregister, but she somehow forgot about Ramsey’s extensive criminal record and how that might make things a little tricky. After describing the different types of pastries and confectioneries she enjoyed, he eventually drifted off to sleep, but she was left staring at the ceiling. What was the work-around?

It was getting quite toasty, so she wriggled away from him. Ramsey had shifted to sleeping on his stomach and man was he a furnace. She reached out to touch his ponytail. He had cut his hair recently, so the ponytail had been reduced to a small puff. Hm, she needed to get her hair cut too at some point. It was long enough that she could feel it on the back of her neck.

Hearing him breathe and feeling his warmth… it was so comforting. “Don’t worry. I’ll figure something out,” she whispered.

***

Ramsey woke up having slept better than he had for a while, and he already knew Percy was right there without having to look. But he turned to look at her anyway ‘cause he thought she was pretty. Usually, she slept on her back, but this time she was on her side, her hair sticking up at a ludicrous angle against the pillow. Looking over her, he saw that the alarm clock read 5:56. So he had slept soundly from ten to six. Wow, that was remarkably normal, as opposed to his typical mess of a sleep schedule. Lying back on the mattress, he put an arm around Percy’s side, dreading clock’s ticking march to six o’clock.

Even though he knew it was coming, the beeping of the alarm clock made him jump.

“Ugh.” Percy reached over, giving the button a firm karate chop before pressing her face into his shoulder.

“Morning, beautiful.”

“Morning, beautiful,” she echoed.

“Heh, thanks.”

She sighed, hugging him tightly. “Do I _have_ to wake up?”

“It’s a good idea if you wanna get paid.”

“Ick, whenever I close my eyes, I see stacks of counterfeit money.”

“It’ll be alright, doll.” He leaned over to kiss her ear.

Smiling, she gave a soft squeal and sat up. “I’m ticklish.”

“Oh really? More fun for me, then,” he said with a mischievous grin. Holding her face, he planted a few more kisses on her other ear and to his utter delight, she giggled before shrugging him off.

“Well, are _you_ ticklish?” she asked, rubbing her ear.

Ramsey scooted off the bed, just in case. “I have a feeling I should not disclose that information at this time.”

Before he could get away, Percy pulled him into a hug that pinned his arms to his sides and left kisses all the way up his neck.

He squirmed, trying to hold back a grin as shivers ran down his spine. “Ah, ah, okay, okay, okay! I’m very ticklish!”

Percy finally released him, hopping off the bed as well. “That’s all I had to know.” Yawning, she stretched until her back popped. “You can borrow one of my clean shirts, by the way, and throw yours in the laundry basket.”

He had no idea how that was going to work since she was a womens’ small and he was a mens’ medium. “Okay, cool.”

“I’ll make some eggs.” She strode out the door, stretching her arms and hands.

He chucked his shirt from the previous day into her laundry and stepped over to her dresser, opening the drawer to reveal neatly folded shirts. Ramsey was lucky that he hung up his shirts in a closet because if he had a dresser, those shirts definitely wouldn’t be folded. He eventually found a t-shirt that looked like it would fit with the words “Support Your Local Library” emblazoned across the front. It must have been one of the ones that Molly had gotten from volunteering at the library with Fred. Slipping into his shorts, he joined Percy in the kitchen to see her with a spatula in one hand and her phone in the other, talking to someone that was probably Eros. He took over egg duty for her, trying to listen in on the conversation.

“Is that so? At a 7-Eleven? Alright, I’m on it. Yes, thank you. I’ll depart in roughly twenty minutes. Goodbye.” She set the phone down, meeting his gaze with a slight smirk. “We’ve got a lead.”

“At a gas station?”

“Our target foolishly used her debit card to purchase a full tank of gas, so we tracked her down based on that. It appears she hasn’t moved much because she’s still in Arietta.” She took two plates from a cupboard. “The officers there are tracking her down and once Meryl and I make it there, we’ll take over the investigation. Would you like to come as well?”

Ramsey shrugged. “I dunno. Will I be useful or just slow ya down?”

“It would certainly help if we stumble across any more counterfeit.” She shrugged, clasping her hands together and toeing the floor. “And also I like having you there.”

Ah, so sweet. “Heh, sure I’ll come.”

“Excellent.”

Together, they hastily finished their breakfast and hopped into the cruiser. Ramsey felt an unpleasant jolt in his stomach at the prospect of leaving town again to hunt down this Morez lady, but he took a small amount of comfort from having Percy there. They stopped by to pick up a tired-looking Meryl, case file in hand.

As she walked from her apartment to the car, Ramsey rolled down the window and flashed a suave grin. “Get in, loser, for we are solving crime.”

Meryl’s look of exasperation as she slid into the back seat gave him immense satisfaction. “You jackass.”

Ramsey snapped his seat belt, rocking his front seat privilege like a champ. “Yeah, I know.”

“Anyway,” Percy said, cutting in, “you’re updated on everything?”

Meryl pushed up her glasses, looking at her phone screen. “Yup, and I’m in contact with Arietta’s boys.”

“Anything new come up?”

“The transaction happened at 4:28 this morning and they were able to track her on traffic cam footage after the fact. However, they were only able to track her so far because the town doesn’t have many traffic cams set up on the outskirts, so the trail went cold. Morez was last seen headed north on Holmer Avenue.”

Percy looked over her shoulder as she merged on the interstate before replying. “And when was that?”

“5:06.”

“So she hasn’t been seen for over an hour. Hm. That gives us a search radius maybe a hundred miles, and that’s being conservative.” Percy tapped the wheel slowly and thoughtfully. “Hopefully, she keeps up the trend of staying in the same town.”

Meryl looked back at her phone. “They have a few units on it, but they weren’t able to spare many because they’re still working on a homicide from a week ago.”

That unpleasantly interrupted Ramsey’s intent staring out the window. “Yikes.”

“Thanks for the input, Ramsey,” Meryl said dismissively.

“You’re welcome.”

“Her last seen location placed her as heading toward the more rural area of town,” Meryl said, “so they’re questioning the few people that live there.”

“Oh, goodie,” Percy muttered.

Ramsey wondered why that comment had the ring of sarcasm. Meryl must have noticed as well because she raised an eyebrow in Percy’s direction.

A casual expression came over Percy’s face as if she were changing a subject that hadn’t even started. “Oh, Ramsey. Would you mind calling Molly for me? Just tell her that we’re going out of town for the day on our case.”

Yeah, it would be like Percy to call instead of text. “Uh, sure.” Pulling out his phone, he wondered if Molly would even be awake at that hour. His question was quickly answered.

“Ayy!” Molly greeted.

“Ayy!”

Her voice maintained enthusiasm with a hint of confusion. “Why are you calling me?”

“Um, so we’re going out of town today,” he said slowly. “Yeah, I’m hangin’ out with Percy and Meryl while they solve crime.”

“Is it _your_ crime they’re solving?”

“No, they don’t know about that one yet.”

“What?”

“What?”

“What?” Percy asked.

“Oh, it’s a running joke,” he explained. “Anyway, so that’s what’s happening.”

Molly laughed. “Coolio. I’m just chillin’ with Sylvie. I convinced him to watch _Avatar: the Last Airbender_ with me.”

“Coolio. See ya, I guess.”

“Fare thee well. Give Percy a hug for me” And she hung up.

“You guys are so awkward,” Meryl said, huffing a few chuckles.

Ramsey grinned over his shoulder at her, slipping the phone back in his pocket. “That’s how we roll.”

Percy had a fond expression on her face as she stared out at the road. “She’s doing well?”

“Yup, they’re just watchin’ cartoons.”

She tensed, tapping the wheel. “I hope she’s not too upset. We might end up being out of town all day…”

Shrugging, Ramsey patted her arm. “Eh, she’s fine. Told me to give you a hug for her.”

“That’s nice,” she said, her face softening.

Ramsey only hoped that the sentiment assuaged her fears at least a little.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just writin this like: "Aw man, I wish I had someone to cuddle." ;_;  
> *is awkward*  
> *is asocial*  
> *is only ever interested in people platonically despite the desire for romance*  
> "Yeah, I want the cuddles."


	8. Chapter 8

The car ride was largely uneventful, filled with pleasant chatter here and there, but it was only background to Percy’s pounding adrenaline. Ahead of them was a daunting task. Teaching Molly sword play would have to wait, sadly. They arrived bright and early at the Arietta Police Station where two frazzled officers waited inside to hand off the newest additions to the ever-growing master case file. There were no further updates.

As they walked back out the doors, Meryl hefted the case file. “If this thing gets any bigger, I’ll have to get a backpack.”

“You’ll just have to work out those noodle arms,” Percy said with a teasing grin.

“Aw, but I’m not athletically inclined like you are,” she pouted.

“But you’re the better runner.”

A smile broke across Meryl’s face. “True, I’ll take that. In the meantime, I’ll just make Ramsey hold it.”

She moved to hand it to him, but he pushed it back toward her. “I dunno, can you trust me with such sensitive information?” he said with a veneer of faked innocence. “I _am_ pretty illegal.”

“I’ll hold it,” Percy volunteered, rolling her eyes.

“No, I’ll just hold it,” Meryl said.

Finally, Ramsey took it with a joking look of exasperation that suggested he was doing them a huge favor. “Fine, I’ll hold it. Might as well do something useful.”

“You two are insufferable.” Anyhow, Percy couldn’t help but laugh anyway. They always lightened her mood.

“To 7-Eleven?” Meryl asked, dashing to the front seat of the car before Ramsey could.

“To 7-Eleven.”

“What do you think we’ll find there?” Ramsey asked resignedly, being once again banished to the back.

“You’d be surprised,” Percy said. “You can find the smallest hints in the strangest places that can clue in to one’s whereabouts.” At least, that’s what she desperately hoped for their investigation.

“Yeah!” Meryl agreed excitedly. “One time, we found a thief that broke into a store because we found a flake of paint from the store’s door in his car!”

“We also found a crowbar in his house,” Percy added. “And stolen merchandise in his grandmother’s attic.”

“But the paint was the _first_ thing we found! And it’s cooler.”

“Paint, you say?” Ramsey asked.

“Yeah, paint!” Meryl was absolutely ecstatic. As she should be because she was the one that found the paint and sent it to forensics. “The store’s door was painted this dark blue. So when the dude broke in, he smashed through the door’s window, which got some of the paint flakes on his clothes and crowbar. Then, forensics identified it as the same paint when we found it in his car!”

Ramsey grinned, probably at Meryl’s nerdom more than the information he just learned. “Wow, sounds scientific.”

Having stopped at the 7-Eleven, Percy stepped out of the cruiser. In front of her was a row of gas pumps with few people filling up their cars. A handful of people walked in and out of the store, holding a variety of snacks. The Arietta police had preemptively blocked off the pump at the far end for their investigation.

“Wanna split up?” Meryl asked. “One of us questions the employees, the other one searches the pump?”

Percy nodded, striding out into the parking lot. “That will be ideal. Which would you prefer?”

She laughed with a mild strain of guilt. “Would you hate me if I made you talk to the employees?”

“I could never hate you,” Percy said incredulously. “I would talk to every person on earth for you.”

“Oh, Perc’, you absolute darling,” Meryl crooned. “I’m glad you understand my hatred of people.”

She held out her fist. “It’s okay. I hate people too.”

They gloriously bumped fists before going their separate ways. Cool air greeted them as they walked through the front doors, accompanied by the tantalizing smell of burritos. Percy had to hold Ramsey’s hand to keep him from drifting off to the candy isle.

“I’ll buy you candy later,” she whispered.

“ _Whaaa_? Pff, I don’t need candy,” he said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“But I know that your heart desires it.”

“Okay, maybe it does.”

At the counter stood a bored employee, a young man with sandy hair. “How can I help you?” he asked with nonexistent enthusiasm.

Percy stepped up to the counter, her eyes skating all over the store in case something stood out. “Do you happen to know who was working here this morning between four and five o’clock?”

He took a small bow. “You’re lookin’ at him.”

“Good. Did you happen to see this woman?” she asked somewhat impatiently. She didn’t mean to come across as pushy, but her anxiousness got the better of her.

Ramsey showed him the picture from the case file.

“Yeah,” he sighed. “She came in to buy a drink or somethin’.”

“Can you describe her?”

He braced his elbows on the counter, sleepily nodding. “Yeah. White tank top, ripped jeans, colorful slip-on shoes, Timex Easy Reader on her left wrist. I dunno, my memory’s kinda foggy.” Was it? “She smelled. Not bad though, just like she’d been outside for a long time. You know, the richness of earth and the vibrancy of wild flowers. Her pants had a bunch of yellow dust on them, probably pollen from the flowers.”

Wow, that was unexpected, but could end up being helpful. Possibly. “Excellent. Your descriptions are very detailed. Can you tell us more?”

He idly straightened his smock. “Uh huh. She seemed frantic like she was in a hurry. Kinda rude, too. But not openly. Just in a passive aggressive way while she was pretending to be nice. She bought an energy drink and some bagels in cash.”

She must have not had enough cash on hand to pay for the gas, then, and only snacks. Ironic, considering the charges against her. “Did you check to see if it was counterfeit?”

“Uhh…” He stared beseechingly at the register, searching for but not finding words.

Percy realized that might not have been a good question.

“Welp, if it was, it’s long gone now. I’ve rung up probably twenty people since then, so that cash is buried.”

Moving along. “Did you notice anything else out of the ordinary?”

He shrugged. “Yeah. She had lots of burrs and leaves stuck to her clothes. And I was the one that had to sweep it all up when she left.” He casually gestured toward the garbage bin at the end of the counter.

Stepping over to it, Percy peered inside with Ramsey at her shoulder. Sure enough, a small pile of leaves sat amongst various other pieces of garbage. She took one out, recognizing it as an aspen leaf, and added it to a plastic bag. A revealing addition to the evidence. There were a few burrs from berry bushes, so she added those as well. It was a struggle, however, as they kept sticking to the fabric of her gloves. “Thank you for your time,” she said, heading back outside.

“So she’s on a camping trip somewhere,” Ramsey muttered, “but how the heck do we pinpoint exactly where?” He stared out at the surrounding landscape. As they were on the edge of town, they could see rolling hills, fields, and sparse forests of aspens and underbrush.

“We’ll figure it out,” she said. Little did they know, she had a metaphorical ace up her sleeve, but she had to identify a few more things before playing it. “We’ll see what Meryl has found.”

Crouching in the shadow of the gas pump, Meryl looked up. “There really isn’t anything here,” she said dismissively. “The only thing remotely cool was this cattail I found.” She held up the plant.

Oh. OH. Well that made things easier. Percy took the cattail and added it to her evidence bag, although it could barely fit. A thrilling rise of excitement filled her stomach. There was a mild fear that her assumptions would be too far a stretch, but she was confident. “Morez is in the woods with wildflowers and berries. She’s also near a pond, as indicated by the cattail. Do you know where that narrows it down to?”

“Uh… Somewhere out there?” Meryl said, making a vague and confused gesture toward the hills.

“Yes! More specifically in _that_ direction. I know exactly where her hideout is.” Percy pointed to a slim valley in between two of the hills. “Let’s get some granola bars while we’re here. We’re going on a hike!” The ace had made its appearance. She strode back into the store, Meryl and Ramsey shooting a bemused look at each other before following. A minute later, the employee was ringing up several bottles of water, a few handfuls of energy bars, and a bag of gummy bears. She hummed happily to herself as she hopped back into the car.

“Um, Percy? Quick question,” Ramsey said from the back seat. “How do you know where we’re going?”

Oh yes. Sometimes, she got ahead of herself and forgot to explain things. Percy started the car. “It’s nothing too interesting. You see, I grew up here. I know of one area where there’s aspens, wildflowers, berries, and cattail. There’s even an outcropping in the hills that would make for ideal shelter. This is my home town, so I know it pretty well.”

“What? Seriously?” Meryl exclaimed. “That’s cool!”

Percy chuckled and shrugged. Not cool, actually. She didn’t like Arietta very much. “Yes. And my parents live on Holmer Avenue, so I had a feeling that they would be questioned by the police here, so that’s why I said ‘oh, goodie’ earlier as if I was mildly upset.”

“You—your parents?” Ramsey asked a little shakily.

“ _Ooh_ , your parents,” Meryl said with a raise of the eyebrows. “The last time I saw them was at our graduation.” She leaned closer, lowering her voice. “We should meet them. And by that, I mean that you should introduce Ramsey.”

“What? No.”

“But yes.”

“But _Meryl_ —”

“Ramsey, cover your ears.”

He slowly did so, staring out the window and looking utterly bewildered.

Meryl turned back to Percy. “It’s harder to introduce a husband of five years than it is to introduce a boyfriend. C’mon. You gotta trust me.”

“This is what I get for making you my wingman,” Percy said under her breath.

She winked. “Yes, this is what you get for making me your wingman.” At Percy’s pout, she continued. “It’ll be great. We’ll arrest Morez, stop by their house for, like, ten minutes, and then go. In and out.”

“Knowing my parents, they’ll extend a ten minute meet-up into three hours.”

“That’ll give them more time to get to know him so that they don’t have a collective heart attack over the whole thing.”

“It will give them more time to find reasons to dislike him. They’re always so negative.”

“Whatcha guys talkin’ about?” Ramsey asked nervously.

Meryl adjusted her glasses, shooting Percy a _look._ “Top-secret police stuff! You can uncover your ears now.”

“O-okay.”

Percy released a long sigh, preferring not to speak anymore. The buildings around them began to melt away, becoming fewer in number and morphing into wide fields. The sun was getting higher in the sky, so she could only hope that they would wrap things up before the day came to a close.

***

Her parents. Oh geez. Ramsey pressed his hands over his ears again, muting the world around him, only able to hear the hum of the engine. He suddenly felt as if his insides were turning to stone. Gosh, he never even thought about meeting them. He forced himself to take steady breaths despite his pounding heart. He completely forgot that he wouldn’t just be marrying Percy, he’d be marrying into a frickin’ family. _No, no, shut up. Not like it’s ever gonna happen. Stupid._ Pulling out a stick of gum, he promised himself that he would just calm down.

He stared out the window, bullying his mind into going blank. The scenery was kinda nice. He grew up in a small town too, but it wasn’t as rural. Would her parents like him? Gah, it wasn’t working. Instead, he closed his eyes and focused on the smell of mint.

Eventually, Percy pulled onto a dirt road, clouds of dust rising in their wake. Woah, they really were in the middle of nowhere. She patted her hips to ensure the presence of her sword and cuffs before stepping out of the car.

Meryl closed her eye and rubbed her Canadian dollar, lips moving soundlessly before stepping out. Probably the “no one gets hurt” mantra. Ramsey took a deep breath and followed.

“Alright,” Percy said, gazing down the path. Well, it was less of a path and more like a thin strip of dirt that wasn’t grown over by bushes. “The place I’m thinking of is about an hour’s walk this way. I’m hoping that it gives us a significant enough trail of evidence to follow. And remember to hydrate properly.”

“This will be a nice change of pace!” Meryl said, shoving two water bottles in the pockets of her coat. They barely fit.

Percy nodded, taking the lead at a brisk pace. She must have really known the place because she barely had to look up to weave her way around bushes and trees. Around them, branches fluttered in the breeze, making the dappled spots of sunlight on the ground dance. “Oh yes,” Percy said. “I’ve almost forgotten that I had this.” She turned to toss a small bottle to Ramsey.

Catching it, he flipped it over to see what it was. Sunscreen. “What’s this for?”

“Did you not read the label?” Meryl snickered.

“It’s to apply to your skin,” Percy said matter-of-factly.

Ramsey reluctantly screwed the lid off. “But—”

“Ramsey. You have the delicate skin of a porcelain doll.”

“They make ‘em this ugly?”

“If you don’t put it on, you will burn.”

“Oh, okay.” He rubbed a bit across his face, and if not to protect his skin, then to appease Percy.

Meryl glanced at him with a teasing grin. “Don’t forget your ears, Snow White.”

He chucked the bottle at her. “Tan people aren’t immune to skin cancer either!”

“I’m not tan! I’m just not a pale vampire like you!”

Percy released an exasperated sigh. Oh, sweet Percy. “Meryl. You’re a redhead too. You’ll burn just as easy.”

“Oh, okay.”

Ramsey nudged her, flashing a shit-eating grin.

“You mouth-breathing dipstick,” Meryl grumbled back, slathering sunscreen across her face in an ornery way.

“Wait, what about you, Percy?” Ramsey asked with over-the-top concern.

She reached for the bottle. “I will apply some as well.”

“Aw man!” Meryl sighed, handing it over. “You were supposed to be too cool for sunscreen and then we were gonna gang up on you to tease you.”

“I have deflected your attack.” They shared a laugh before taking a pause to listen to the rustle of leaves and the birds hidden past their field of vision.

It was kinda nice to just enjoy the silence for a few minutes. He’d never really been in such a rural area before, and it astounded him that Percy had actually lived there. She basically had a forest in her backyard. “So… you grew up here?” Ramsey asked, hoping to learn more.

Ahead, Percy shrugged. “Yes. My father and I used to hike out here to hunt for rabbits and quail.” She stared out at the land around her with a sigh. “It was one of the few times he wouldn’t talk.”

“Oh, so that’s where you learned how to shoot,” Meryl said, voice lit with recognition.

“It’s also where I learned that I prefer swords to guns.”

He grimaced at the ground in front of him. He assumed that it was because of the noise—Percy never liked how loud gunfire was—but he wondered if it had to do with the associations her mind made. Guns with her father’s push for her to conform. The conversation fell into a lull until Meryl brought up a court case that had happened recently. Brightening up, Percy happily engaged in the conversation. Ramsey couldn’t help but frequently look over his shoulder.

***

Percy held up her hand, motioning for the group to stop. Honestly, Ramsey had forgotten what they were supposed to be doing and fell into a trance, so he nearly ran into Meryl. Even his breathing felt too loud. He half-expected to spot the crazy woman peering around a tree. Geez, couldn’t keep his paranoia in check.

“Let’s go up this way,” she said, walking up the slope of the hill. “It will give us a vantage point of the area. If she’s there, we arrest her. If not, then we search for more clues.”

“Oh boy,” Ramsey muttered. Percy led them, winding through trees up the side of the hill. Each step was calculated. He could imagine that she had a map of the land laid out in her head. Meryl continuously swept a watchful eye across the landscape, her shaking hands poised above the guns at her sides. He knew the feeling as there was adrenaline rising in his system, sending electrifying panic through his limbs. This seemed like a bad idea, being out in the middle of nowhere with the possible presence of a crazy lady.

Large rocks were strewn across the ground and everything was covered in a vibrant confetti of yellowing leaves. Numerous bright wildflowers left no empty patches of dirt. Percy stopped at a high point, crouching in a copse of trees and peering at the land below. Beside her, Ramsey looked out to see a clearing in the thin valley below with a pond in the middle. Thick bushes and cattail elbowed for room at the pond’s edge and ships of green algae floated across the surface. All was quiet except the chirping chorus of frogs and strained sobs coming from somewhere he couldn’t see. Someone was there, alright. There were even muddy footprints that led to the outcropping just below them.

Meryl pointed to herself then along the side of the hill and across the valley, indicating a spot that would allow her to see what was below the outcropping. Percy cocked her head, but then mirrored the motion to clarify. Meryl flashed a thumbs up before quietly going her separate way.

“I never liked gestures,” Percy whispered, “so let’s use the wonders of language to communicate.”

“Sounds good to me. What’re we gonna do?”

“First, we need to confirm that this is our target. I’m sure Meryl will signal us once she sees. Hopefully she remains undetected.”

Together, they watched Meryl as she picked her way around trees and bushes, low to the ground. Her hair almost blended in with the leaves and her coat with the bark. Eventually, she came to a stop, gazing at the outcropping. Slowly, she raised a subtle thumbs up.

“Excellent.” Percy silently drew her sword. “I’ll apprehend her. You stay behind me.”

He followed her around the outcropping and down the side of the hill, hands shaking slightly. Oh geez. It was difficult to walk quietly due to the abundance of leaves on the ground. The sound of weeping came closer. A cave carved a dip into the outcropping, although it was less of a cave and more of an indentation in the rock. Inside sitting on the dirt was Luciana Morez, exactly as described by the 7-Eleven dude. She cried into her arms, oblivious to their approach. Ramsey kinda felt bad. He knew how much it sucked to get arrested during a crying session. It seemed that she had been living there for a little while, maybe a week or two. Food wrappers surrounded a dirty sleeping bag, a small fire pit full of charcoal was scooped out at the entrance, and various odds and ends of tools and supplies were peeking out of a backpack. Why on earth would she need a hideout for so long? And why out there of all places?

“You’re under arrest,” Percy declared, taking deliberate strides. Her presence seemed to command the very elements around them.

Morez whipped her face upward, shock replacing the sorrow in her eyes. She shot to her feet with a distressed gasp and hastily rubbed the tears from her cheeks, which smeared some of her makeup.

As the woman backed away, Percy came closer. “You have the right to remain sil—augh!” Unfortunately, she couldn’t finish reciting her rights as a bag of bagels had just been thrown in her face.

“Back off!” the lady snapped, making a mad dash across the forest floor.

Ramsey felt a strange moment of hesitation before following a shouting Percy. “But you’re under arrest!”

“Not if you can’t catch me!” She immediately proceeded to trip over a bush, but quickly recovered after hissing a waterfall of expletives. Just as she picked up speed again, she screamed and skidded to a stop when Meryl leapt out of the bushes in front of her.

“I shoot in accordance with the law!” Meryl announced, guns aimed directly at Morez’s head.

The woman made a complete 180, feet sliding across the carpet of leaves until she gained enough traction. Percy gave her sword a conservative swing, the blade slicing cleanly through a thin aspen. The tree collapsed to the ground, but Morez rolled away just in time to dodge it.

“What the heck? Why’s she so agile?” Meryl shouted.

Ramsey stepped back as the woman floundered past, scrambling to collect her footing. Wait, that wasn’t what he was supposed to do. “Idiot,” he hissed to himself. Just as she passed, he reached out and brushed her clothes, turning her tank top to gold.

“Wha—wh—what the hell?” she shouted, stumbling again. Her movements became halting and stiff.

“Stop in the name of the law!” Percy shouted back. She gained on Morez, her footsteps starting to squelch in the increasingly muddy ground near the pond.

“No!”

Meryl skirted around some trees to intercept Morez. “Well… You kinda have to!”

Geez, the lady wanted to do things the hard way. “Percy! Static cling?” Ramsey called, turning to gold as he did so. His feet started to sink in the marshes due to his rapidly increasing weight.

“Yes!” Just as Percy raised her arm to construct a wizard tower—

“STOP! Just stop for _one second_!” Morez yelled.

To his surprise, Ramsey’s legs stopped moving. Percy and Meryl stopped as well, shooting confused glances at one another. Cotton started to fill his mind. What were they doing again? They were hunting down crazy lady, but she wanted them to stop. It seemed like a good idea. Diplomacy first, right?

Morez sighed loudly, putting a fist to her forehead. “I _really_ have to do it this way?” she muttered disbelievingly. After collecting herself, she turned to the three of them with a congenial smile. It was really comforting, like she was a long-lost friend inviting them on a coffee date. “Honey, what is this? Why don’t you tell me about it?” she asked, gesturing to her tank top. She seemed really interested.

“Yeah, my epithet is ‘Goldbricker.’” He clamped his teeth on his cheek in shock. Why’d he say that? He didn’t even think. His mouth just moved. And it kept moving. “I can temporarily turn things to gold. One time, I used it to swindle a half dozen companies out of their savings to the tune of 25 million dollars!” _Shut the hell up!_

“That’s wonderful!” Morez said with an emphatic nod of approval. “Sweetie, why don’t you fix this for me? Please?” She flashed an irresistible simper.

Nodding numbly, Ramsey turned himself back to normal and had to tug his feet out of the mud with a wet _shlup._ He sunk pretty deep when he was gold. He turned her top back to fabric and stepped back. It felt nice to help a fellow con artist out. Wait.

“Ramsey, what are you doing?” Meryl shouted.

Wait, what _was_ he doing? What was wrong with him? What a low-IQ course of action. It felt like he was watching himself move, but not consciously deciding to move. Icy panic made his stomach turn. Why couldn’t he get a grasp on what was happening?

Morez’s smile became more saccharine. “I was hoping to hide out until things died down, but you’re all really bothering me. Now, darlings,” she said, turning to Percy and Meryl, “why are you chasing me around? Isn’t it tiring you out?”

“Oh, I guess so,” Meryl said in agreement.

Percy cocked her head, emphasizing how obvious the answer was. “We have to arrest you because you stole all that money and created counterfeit.”

“Forget about it. Maybe you should take a break, hm? Meditate for a long while.” She sauntered past, patting Percy’s cheek as she went. “Can’t have you running out of energy.”

“Thank you for the concern,” Percy said. Her eyebrows knit together, uncertainty coming over her face.

“Of course, babe. I’d say ‘catch you later,’ but I hope that doesn’t happen. Toodles!” Flashing a gorgeous smile, Luciana Morez walked at a leisurely pace back through the woods and toward society.

The three stared at each other, unsure of what just happened or of what to do next. It was nice to just stand there and not think, though. It was nice to watch the day go by, the sun lolling from its high point in the sky. Wait. He felt like he needed to do something, but he wasn’t sure of what. A sudden iron fist gripped his chest. What was he forgetting? He looked over at Percy and Meryl, who were gazing off into space. Looking at Percy’s watch, he saw that it had been… _three hours_ ? Three hours since Morez left? _How_?

“H-hey, guys?” he stammered.

Percy and Meryl immediately snapped out of their reveries, looking at the woods around them as if seeing it for the first time. “What—what happened?” Meryl asked incredulously.

Ramsey shook his head to clear it. He looked down at his body, realizing that he could finally control it again. “Okay, that lady is _freaky_ ,” he said.

“That had to be her epithet.” Percy stared at her hands in terror. “I couldn’t move.” Her voice shook a little. “I couldn’t move.”

“Everything she said seemed so right at the time…” Meryl shook out her arms and legs. “It was like being hypnotized.”

Percy squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her hands over her face, rapidly sucking in air. She stumbled away from everything as if she couldn’t get enough space.

“You alright?” Ramsey asked softly. He didn’t want to approach her because she seemed really out of it.

“I… yes.” Her shoulders slumped and her hands fell back to her sides. “That’s one of my worst phobias. Completely losing control over myself. It was quite harrowing.” She shook her head, obviously upset, and dashed back to the outcropping, which was cleaned out. “I can’t believe I let her get away again.”

“ _Let_ her?” Ramsey was astounded that she could say that. “Did you forget what just happened? There was no way we could get her in the first place! She made me use my epithet against my will! _That_ is just insane.”

“Yeah,” Meryl agreed. “I was going to fire a warning shot, but when she told us to stop… Ugh.” She holstered her guns with a scowl. “We’re gonna have to find some brilliant work-around if we’re gonna catch her.”

Percy nodded, ambling dolefully back to the trail. She seemed to have loosened up, so Ramsey joined her at her side. “Hey, you don’t have to fixate on failure so much,” he said quietly. “It’ll be alright. We’ll just try again, except this time, we’ll be better informed, right?”

She nodded glumly.

“I’m amazed that you were even able to find this place. That’s pretty cool.”

She smiled mildly. “Thanks.”

“Lighten up!” Meryl said, catching up to them. “We can do anything when it’s the two of us! Oh, and Ramsey too.”

Yup. He grinned disingenuously. “Gee, I’m flattered.”

The sentiment made Percy’s worry drain away, her eyes glowing with renewed vigor. “You’re right! We’ll head back to town, rest and recuperate, and pick it up again tomorrow!”

Meryl slapped her partner on the back. “Yeah, that’s the spirit! Now are we gonna sleep in the car or crash at your parents’ place?”

Percy’s eyes went wide and her mouth hardened into a rigid line. “Meryl.”

“Perc’.”

“But _Meryl._ ”

The ginger displayed a wide grin and wiggled her eyebrows.

  
Ramsey stared back at the trail, his expression probably matching Percy’s. Her parents. _Her parents._ Good lord.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dudes. This whole series has reached 106,000 words. That's, like, the same length as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I never thought that I was actually capable of this. Friendos, if there's something you want to do but you feel inadequate, give it your best shot anyway because you never know how awesome things can turn out! Sometimes you'll find that you're way better than you give yourself credit for. And seriously, thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

Nervously flapping her hands unfortunately made no difference to her rising anxiety. Percy was definitely not looking forward to staying with her parents. Maybe they should have slept in the car instead. But there they were. A cacophony of crickets rose around them and the hills were coated in inky black war paint as they ravenously devoured the sun. The white picket fence whined as she opened it, the gravel trail to the door of a white house feeling like a march to the guillotine. Although everything around her was so familiar, it was too stained with memories to be welcoming.

The gravel crunched and the porch creaked beneath her boots as she took a big step toward the door. Only the light spilling through a single window lit the way. As she raised her hand to knock, she froze. “First, I should explain a few things.”

“They’re just your parents,” Meryl said with a smile and an amiable shrug. “I know they’re overbearing, but we can handle them.”

Percy shivered, but not from the cool breeze sweeping over them. “I feel like I should. First off, my dad’s a raging asshole and he knows it.”

Ramsey snickered at the description. “So like Eros, then?”

“But Eros is actually likeable.”

He nodded blankly and disbelievingly. Oh yeah, he didn’t like Eros very much. But the difference was that Eros teased in the name of good fun while her dad teased to speak his mind.

“If he butts heads with you, I highly recommend that you butt back. And then my mom,” Percy continued, “will probably gossip about you the second you leave the room. I hope that gives you a general idea of what we’re up against. But just remember that they’re not bad people. Just misguided.  _ Heavily  _ misguided.” With a deep breath, she turned back to the door and knocked four times.

Although whoever was inside kept their footsteps silent, Percy noticed the curtain move. “It’s the cops again,” the voice of her mother called across the house.

“Tell them we want nothing to do with their fascist ideologies!” That was her father, alright.

The door opened a crack, a small chain straining across the crevice. “Oh, this cop is our daughter!” Her mother quickly removed the door fastener and swung it wide open, a bright smile showing her abundance of teeth. “Percy! We haven’t seen you in ages! Come in, come in! What brings you here?” Her graying blonde hair hung in waves about her shoulders, brushing the collar of the blouse she was wearing.

Percy reluctantly shared the side hug her mother solicited and followed her into the sitting room. Behind her, Ramsey and Meryl cautiously stepped inside. “We’re working on an investigation here in town,” Percy said stiffly.

“Yeah, there were some cops here this morning asking about a white SUV.”

“That’s what we’re working on.”

Her mom clicked her tongue. “Oh, it takes an investigation to get you to visit. You know, it wouldn’t kill you to call more often. We really worry about you alone in the big city.”

“Mother. I’m 29.”

“A woman always has to be careful!”

At that point, her father emerged from the kitchen, sporting a hearty beard and a bright red flannel over his bulky frame. “Well if it isn’t the prodigal daughter! How are ya, kid?”

Percy shared another side hug with further reluctance. “I am doing well.”

The man squinted at the strangers in his house, not bothering to hide his leeriness. “Who’re these people?”

Making a vague gesture, Percy introduced them. “This is Meryl. Remember? My friend from college?”

“Oh yeah, I remember her now! How are ya, kid?” He gave her a firm handshake that shook her whole arm.

“I’m good, sir!” Meryl said.

Her father directed his attention toward Ramsey, squinting. “And who’s this girl?”

Understandably, Ramsey’s mouth dropped open. “I—I—I’m not a girl,” he stammered.

“Sorry, pal! Couldn’t tell with that ponytail and the earrings!” Of course, he probably could tell, but he just wanted to be a jerk about it. He gave Ramsey a not-so-friendly punch to the shoulder, causing him to stumble and shrink away.

Well, dad really came out swinging. “Dad, men can have long hair and jewelry,” Percy said between clenched teeth. “That statement is sexist and generally offensive for numerous reasons.”

“Yeah, yeah,” her dad brushed off with the wave of a meaty hand. “Anyway, what’re you doin’?”

Classic dad, never taking her seriously. And he wondered why she never told him anything. “We were hoping to stay the night,” Percy answered curtly. “You have the room.”

“That we do,” her dad said.

“Have you eaten?” her mother asked. “We can warm up some lasagna for y’all.”

At that moment, her stomach felt abyssal. Two energy bars and a handful of gummy bears didn’t last very long. She had forgotten how hungry she was. “Yes, that would be great.” A few minutes later, they were all sitting at the large oak table, eating delicious leftover lasagna that tasted of nostalgia. It had been a long time since she had partaken of her mother’s cooking. At her sides, Meryl and Ramsey seemed to enjoy it as well. It had been a long day, so they emptied their plates in the span of five minutes. Percy found it nice that her parents allowed them to sit in a comfortable silence for the time being.

Her father sat at the head of the table and poured himself a mug of freshly brewed coffee. No cream. No sugar. He passed the coffee pot around and Percy noticed with fondness that Ramsey put a large amount of sugar in his mug. The man had a sweet tooth if she ever saw one.

Taking a long sip, her father stared at Ramsey over his mug. “You never told me who the scary-lookin’ fella is.”

Uh oh, he didn’t miss that. She was hoping that the dispute about Ramsey’s perceived gender would make him forget about introductions. Not that Percy didn’t want to introduce Ramsey, but he was certainly harder to explain than Meryl was. “This is Ramsey,” she began, trying to think of the best way to word things. “He’s a professional appraiser that works with the police from time to time.”

“Professionals can wear the same attire as our local drug dealer?”

Ramsey grimaced awkwardly at the table, tugging at the sleeves of his hoodie.

Ignoring her dad’s quip, she continued. “There’s counterfeit involved in our case, so we need his expertise.” There was one more thing that needed to be said, but she didn’t want to say it. The longer she prolonged it, the worse it would get, and she’d already procrastinated enough. Just like Meryl said. Just like ripping off a bandaid. “And  _ healsohappenstobemysignificantother _ .”

“I can’t understand you when you mumble,” her mother said.

Good grief, she had to say it again. “Ramsey is my significant other.”

Her father spewed coffee back in his mug, coughing. “Pff,  _ what _ ?”

Her mother’s jaw dropped and a hand went over her heart. “What?”

“You heard me.” Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Meryl’s face turning red as she choked back laughter. Percy had to agree that their reactions were hilarious, but it was significantly less amusing because she was the one experiencing the butt-end of it all.

“Percival, darling,” her mother whispered. “He looks like a criminal!” That woman was so perceptive at the most inconvenient of times.

Meryl clapped a hand over her mouth to hold back the laughter and Ramsey sunk in his seat, chewing viciously at his cheek. He also had to bite back a smile.

Her dad stood, rolling up his sleeves. “Now seems like a good time to clean my hunting rifle.”

Ramsey gulped and sunk further.

As for their reaction, she expected as much. Percy stood as well, stopping her father before he left. “Wait a minute, dad. Stay here. I’m going to talk to you.” Meryl and Ramsey were finished with their dinner, so she told them to hang out in the sitting room. They left with sympathetic glances. Awkwardness rose like thick steam in the room. It was stifling.

The three stared at each other for a moment. Her mother began to collect the empty dishes and Percy followed her to the sink to help wash them. The atmosphere seemed quite tense.

“So.” The word was sharp on her dad’s tongue as he leaned against the counter.

“So what? I’m dating him and I would like it if you could just be happy for me and not be judgemental.”

Her mother grimaced as she rinsed off the dishes. “But—”

“You don’t know him at all, so don’t say what I know you’re about to say.” The dishes clinked and clattered together, stabbing at her eardrums.

Her mother was bursting at the seams with questions. Her expression betrayed the difficulty of selecting only one. “Will you at least tell us how long this has been going on?”

“Six months.”

“Six months!” the man exclaimed. “And you never told us!”

Percy released a stream of air between her teeth as she finished drying the plates. “Well, you never make it easy.”

“Fair enough.”

“Can you promise me that you’ll be nice?” Percy asked.

Her parents looked at each other. “Yeah, we’ll be nice,” her father said resentfully. “I’ll just be happy that you have a boyfriend at all. I was worried that you’d never settle down, being one of those ace people and all.”

She didn’t bother hiding her eye roll. “Okay, good,” Percy said as she walked back to the front room. Meryl and Ramsey, who were sitting uncomfortably on the couch, looked up at their approach and her father stared disdainfully.

“Alright,” her father announced, folding his arms across his broad chest. “Percival. You can take your old room. You can show Mary to the guest room. And I’ll find a sleeping bag. Randy’s sleeping outside.”

“Got it,” Percy muttered, leading Meryl and Ramsey down the hall. She turned to call over her shoulder. “Don’t bother with the sleeping bag. Goodnight, parents.”

“Goodnight, child,” they said in unison.

Percy opened the door and stepped into the darkness of her old room, more happy than anything to get away. Flicking on the lights, she paused. Though it had been nearly a decade since she’d lived there, her room was exactly as she had left it. A neatly made bed in the corner. A bookshelf full of criminal law books and topped with four decks of cards. The soft rug where she would spend hours reading. A few family pictures awkwardly taped to the wall because she didn’t care about decorating, but her mother thought it would be nice. She remembered using a leveler to get them straight before putting a piece of painters’ tape on the back.

It was an uncomfortable array. Existing in that room were remnants of who she used to be, remnants that she didn’t like very much. Whoever it was that once lived in that room—the quiet girl never confident enough in herself—was a stranger to Percy.

“Aw, you’re so little,” Meryl gushed, being immediately drawn to the pictures.

Percy winced, but looked over her shoulder. Wow. There was a picture of her as a baby labeled “First steps: 21 months.” Another picture showed her blankly staring at the camera in her fencing gear labeled “State fencing championship.” One depicted her and her parents by a river with a random array of cousins playing in the background. “Family reunion at Eagle Creek.” Her disdain for pictures showed in each one.

“Please erase these from your memory,” she mumbled, loosening her tie.

“But widdle Percy is so cute,” Ramsey teased.

She smiled slightly, softening a bit. “Shut up, Ramsey.”

“Augh, so mean.”

“Well, I feel awful, so I’m going to take a shower,” Percy said, wanting to remove herself as quickly as possible.

“Don’t take all the hot water,” Meryl said.

“Good thing I take cold showers.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot that you’re some reptilian creature.”

“Wait, wouldn’t reptiles like warm showers because they’re cold-blooded?” Ramsey asked.

Percy decided to leave before they got too deep into the logistics of reptilian shower preferences. It felt really nice to clean up after the day’s activities, but she should have known to bring an extra set of clothes. She thought about asking her parents, but really didn’t want to talk to them again, but the thought of putting on her uniform again was so unbearable that she did it anyway. Making the interaction as short as possible, she secured some sets of clean clothes for Ramsey, Meryl, and herself that would function as pajamas.

Walking back into her room, she found Ramsey and Meryl playing a game of Go Fish on the rug. “For me, if the shower isn’t hotter than the flames of hell, it’s a no-go. And go fish,” Meryl was saying.

“Man, I coulda sworn you woulda had some threes,” Ramsey said, taking from the pile. “For me, I like lukewarm showers unless I’m cold, then I like a hot shower.”

Percy smiled and shook her head, enjoying listening in on the conversation. “I come bearing gifts,” she said, tossing the clothes to them.

Before Meryl could move, Ramsey had already dashed off to the bathroom. “Dangit, he’s gonna take all the hot water just to spite me,” she lamented. “That’s what I get for taking the front seat all the time.”

Percy grinned, taking a deck of cards from the bookshelf and giving it a thorough shuffle. “You two are funny.”

“He’s mean to me.”

“But you’re mean to him too?”

“Touché.” 

Percy laid on the rug, neatly laying the cards out for a game of solitaire. She made sure that the cards were evenly spaced and lined up in straight rows. The secret to sturdy foundations was a neat tableau. “I’m going to call Molly real quick,” she muttered, phone in one hand and a few cards in the other.

Meryl enthusiastically scooted beside her. “Put it on speaker.”

The phone rang twice before she picked up. “Is that Percy?” Molly greeted in a voice befitting a game show host.

“It’s me,” Percy said, holding back a smile.

“And me too! It’s Meryl!”

Molly giggled, instantly becoming more reserved. “Hi.”

“How are you doing?” Percy asked. Specifically, she wanted to ask if her conversation with Sylvie went well, but it might have been something to ask in person. And without other people there as well.

“I’m good. Sylvie and I spent the afternoon walking around downtown and checking out all the weird little shops. We found one that sells healing crystals and magic charms! Too bad Giovanni wasn’t there, or I would have teased him. One of his moms is into that crazy stuff. But we ended up walking, like, six miles. It was fun.”

Percy felt the need to do a happy wiggle. “That’s good.”

“How’s the bad guy catching?”

Meryl jumped in. “Not so good. We almost had her, but she got away again.”

“Dang, that’s too bad.”

“Tell me about it,” Meryl said with a laugh.

Percy shrugged, although Molly couldn’t see it. “We’ll try again tomorrow.”

“Good luck.”

“Thanks.” Checking her watch, she saw that it was 8:30. “Well, I just wanted to check in on you. I’ll let you go now. Remember your bedtime.”

“And all the emergency phone numbers in the case of an emergency?”

She chuckled. “Yes.”

“‘Kay. Goodnight. Love you.”

“Love you too.” She set the phone down, missing Molly. It tied up her heart in knots. She really wanted to be with her again.

“Oh how I love to dote on that child,” Meryl said.

“Yeah…” Percy started placing cards in the foundations. As soon as this whole mess was over, she was going to spend every waking moment with that girl.

Meryl rested her cheek on her arms, flashing a sly smile. “I’m staying in the guest room, right?”

“Right. It’s the next door to the left.”

“So, you know, Perc’.”

“Hm?”

“You and Ramsey will be alone.”

“Where is this going?”

Meryl’s smile grew wider. “You should talk.”

“About what?”

“You know very well what you should talk about.”

Percy’s hand slipped, knocking a few cards out of their straight row. “But—”

“No buts. No excuses. Just start a conversation.” The ginger gave her a little nudge. “C’mon, I believe in you.”

Percy jumped as she heard footsteps coming down the hall. “C-crap! What do I say?”

Meryl stood up in an infuriatingly nonchalant way. “Just listen to your instincts.”

“I don’t have—Meryl!” But Meryl already slipped out the door. Oh no. If she did say something, it would stress her beyond belief. If she didn’t say something, it would stress her beyond belief. A wonderful death trap, a catch-22.

“What don’t you have?” Ramsey asked, lying beside her.

“Instincts.”

“Cool. Those rows of cards are really straight.”

“Thanks for noticing.”

He silently watched her play, leaning against her. Her skin felt as if it was carbonated. They both smelled nice, like citrus soap. Because that’s what was in the shower. She stared blankly at the cards for a moment, her heart starting to bound in her chest.

Ramsey pointed. “You can move that card.”

Oh, she hadn’t noticed. “Thanks.”

Her mind couldn’t focus on the cards, limping through the rest of the game. The numbers fizzed out into static in her vision.

He moved a few cards into the foundations for her. “You seem distracted.”

Yeah she was. She wondered if he could hear the blood thrashing through her veins.

“Wanna talk?”

“Uh…” Her body was on fire and freezing at the same time. Her mouth felt unfamiliar. “Tha—at’s the question.” Had she swallowed her tongue? “Well…” What to say, what to say, what to say.  _ Say something at least!  _ She couldn’t feel her face.

“Is it about the investigation?” he guessed.

She shook her head.

Ramsey finished the game, gathering the cards and shuffling them. “Molly?”

She shook her head. “You.” She could feel him stiffen against her side.

“Did—did I do somethin’ stupid? Is it that really dumb thing I did at the pond?”

She cocked her head. “Of course not. You’re not stupid. I just… have a question to ask you.”

He loosened up again. “Okay. Shoot.”

Percy flattened her hands against the rug, trying to think of what to say. Crap, she hadn’t planned that far. “So. Let me. Set up. A hypothetical situation.” That seemed like the easiest way to glean the information she needed. “Let’s say you meet this person. A girl. A girl that’s also a digital artist or something, I don’t know.”

“Why do I meet her?”

“Probably because you end up working on a project together. Then you become friends and it’s all good and dandy.”

“What kinda friends we talkin’?”

Oh, she forgot that some people had a friendship scale. For her, it was closer to a yes or no thing. “Very close friends. You can talk about feelings and give hugs.”

“Cool. So what happens next?”

“This is when the story gets complicated.” Heat started to press uncomfortably into her cheeks. “So, you find out this girl has fallen in love with you.”

Ramsey raised his eyebrows, searching her face.

“She’s fallen for you so hard that she smashed her face into the sidewalk and is terrified of the thought of a life without you.” Her voice shook a little, but she didn’t want it to. She was hoping that the whole thing could be a mental sandbox for her to figure things out, but it became less distant and more emotionally involved. Was she really about to say it? She let the words pour out before she could dam the flow. “She wants to marry you. Would you do it?”

“No.” Without hesitation.

Oh. Her insides shattered and her heart drowned. May as well use the situation to collect data. “W-why?”

He turned to gaze at her intently. She hadn’t noticed that his ears were pink. She also never really noticed the rich russet color of his eyes. The not gold one. “Because I wanna marry  _ you. _ ”

***

They stared at each other for a moment, almost in complete disbelief of what just happened. It was surreal. Ramsey, for one, couldn’t believe that it was so easy. She brought it up, then he just said it. His hands were shaking and his heart was still thrashing hard at the speed of light. He wondered if she could hear it. The extreme physical response of his anxiety was a little worrying, but completely worth it.

Percy’s face was a lovely shade of red and her mouth made a variety of shapes, but with no sound coming out.

“So,” he stuttered, sitting up. “Uh, s-some—some rat dude named Ramsey wants to marry you. Would you do it?” Welp, that was sort of a lame proposal, but it got the job done.

Her face split into a beam. “Yeah!” she squeaked.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah!”

Roughly 3,000 pounds lifted off of him. “Nice, ‘cause that would have been awkward if you also said no.”

She sat up to vigorously flap her hands, grinning stupidly at the ground. So cute. “Does this mean we’re affianced now?”

“Y-yeah, I guess so.” Fiancée. He silently mouthed the word. It was strange on his tongue, but it felt good too.

“Coolio.” They sat in silence for a bit, completely unsure of what to do next. “Sorry,” she said, “I’m neurologically predisposed to be awkward.”

“Don’t worry, I’m awkward too,” he said with a grin. “That means it’s meant to be.”

She wrapped her arms around him in a hug that nearly knocked him over. “I’m really happy!”

Ramsey had to catch his balance with Percy partially on his lap. “Me too.” It was actually happening. He almost had to do a double-take, but Percy had confirmed twice that it was happening and she was in front of him and she was real. He hugged her tightly and ran his hand down her back, just enjoying the feel of her, just knowing that she was present and there and real.

She placed a hand over his chest, her laugh soft and relieved. “My heart’s beating almost as fast as yours.” The space between them was the only one that existed in the world. It became a world of their own. Good thing neither of them were claustrophobic.

He brushed back the hair in her face. “If someone told me a year ago that I’d get this lucky, I would have laughed in their face.” Holding her waist, he pressed his lips to hers. His chest sparked with the contact and he almost couldn’t breathe. Her hand moved up to hold his collar. “I never imagined anyone would love me.”

Percy kissed him again, their teeth bumping together. “I always assumed I was too socially inept to form a substantial relationship with anyone.” Her arms around him helped to steady his shaking. Geez, why was he shaking so badly?

“Well aren’t we the pair?” Each kiss was absolutely exquisite and sent shock waves through his body. The part of him that was always yearning for something, always cold and lonely, was fading away, a figment of the past. She was one of the first people to have faith in him, to trust him and love him and all the things he didn’t deserve. Now, she basically promised to always be a part of his life. He might have been melting. Probably was. His heart practically leapt out of his throat.

“You mean everything to me,” she murmured against his lips before kissing him again.

“Uh… I think I’m in love with you,” he said stupidly.

She burst out laughing. “My gosh, Ramsey! You dork!” Percy scooted away, breathing very quickly with an unbreakable smile across her face. “Sorry, I just have to… for a sec…” She proceeded to rock energetically back and forth.

“Me too, doll,” he said. Taking in a slow breath, he held it for five seconds before letting it go. Oh gosh. Did that really just happen? Heck yeah. Frickin’ heck yeah.  _ Aaaaaaah _ ! He probably had twenty times the normal amount of adrenaline at that moment. The sheer velocity of the blood shooting through his veins made him shake. They sat there smiling at each other for a minute.

“Am I allowed to tell Meryl tomorrow?” she asked, her hair bobbing with the movement.

“Sure. Wonder how surprised she’ll be.”

Percy laughed, patting her thighs. “Actually, I already told her. About this, I mean. I wanted to get her advice on how to approach you about this.”

They talked… about him? Oh, so that’s why they were being all secretive earlier. Ramsey flushed a little more. “Whatever she told you must have worked out great, because it worked.”

“She helped me build up the courage to actually talk to you about it. Good thing because I don’t know when I would have said anything!”

You know, Ramsey was starting to like that Meryl lady a bit. “What about your parents?”

“They shan’t hear a word of this,” she said through a laugh. “They would surely die on the spot.”

“Agreed. What about Molly?”

The mood fell a few octaves and Percy put a fist to her mouth, biting down on her lip. “Molly…”

Something in his chest broke. Despite all the unknown variables in their crazy life situation, there was one thing he did know for sure: Molly wasn’t a sacrifice he was going to make. He knew Percy felt the same way. “Look, I know that—”

“It’s alright.”

“If it doesn’t work out, then I don’t have—”

“I’ll figure it out, don’t you worry.” Her eyes rose to meet his, a bright, determined blue.

He cast his gaze to the carpet with a grimace, guilt searing down his back. “Heh, sorry that my past sucks.” Sometimes, he really hated himself.

“Don’t apologize. It’s in the past.” She scooted back to him and moved her hands to his face, her fingers resting over his ears, her thumb brushing the scar on his cheekbone. She smiled, the look of felicity softening her beautiful eyes. “I promise that I’ll work something out for our family.”

“Our family,” he repeated softly. Geez, it was so much to take in at once. Terrifying, exhilarating, fulfilling. Like skydiving for the first time. Or maybe just straight-up jumping off a cliff. He grinned and gave her one more kiss for good measure. Her lips were soft.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Meryl giving relationship advice*  
> Meryl: My job here is done.  
> Percy: But you didn’t do anything.  
> Meryl: *disappears with the whoosh of a cape*


	10. Chapter 10

Ramsey woke up shaking and gasping, his chest being strangled in knots. Choking down air was like trying to swallow rocks. Not. The. Time. Well, when was there ever a time for anxiety attacks, really? Percy was still sound asleep, lying on her back. Carefully, he staggered out of bed and stood in the middle of the room, unsure of what to do with himself, so he rocked back and forth. It was so weird being in someone else’s house, and in her parents’ house of all places. He tried to take deep breaths, but his lungs just weren’t having it. Sheesh, what was the big deal? Instead, he sat on the rug and placed his head between his knees.

Really, he wanted to wake up Percy just to talk to her, to help him calm down, but he didn’t want to bother her. He’d just have to figure it out himself. What had happened that was so terrifying? He recounted the events of the day—chasing Morez, meeting Percy’s parents—until he pinpointed the cause of his racing heart. It wasn’t a dream anymore. It was real. And sometimes reality was more terrifying than any nightmare his mind could dredge up.

He kept assuring himself that he was happy about it, but marriage was just so terrifying to him. Really, he did want it, so why the hysterics? Well, it was the responsibility. The idea sat heavily on his shoulders and curled around his arms and chest. He’d have actual obligations to Percy and especially to Molly. Molly. Was she okay? He rocked back and forth a bit, trying to iron out his muddled thoughts. Yeah, she was okay. She was with Sylvie. But where was she at the moment? Still running off in the middle of the night? _Stop freaking out._ Was she going to hurt herself? Should he have done something different? Told Percy? _Calm down._ Would he ever be an adequate parent?

He squeezed his eyes shut, willing his breathing to slow. Everything always seemed worse when his paranoia got the better of him. “It’ll be okay. We’ll figure things out,” he whispered. The noise blaring in his brain sank down. Once he cleared his head, he could think of ways to help Molly. And he wasn’t alone. Percy would be right there too. He gazed across the room at her. Wait, why did he feel like crying? _Geez._ Scrubbing at his cheeks, he stood up and slipped out the door, the handle creaking too loudly for comfort. He just needed a sec to cool off.

Walking quietly through the hall and to the front room, Ramsey knelt at the window and braced his arms on the sill, moving the curtains aside. The night out there was real nice. It was actually quiet, street noise completely absent. The only light came from the moon and a lone house down the road.

On the edges of his perception, he heard soft footsteps approach. “Oh, hey Perc—” When he looked up he had to swallow back a shriek of shock. “Oh, uh…”

Percy’s dad stood only a yard away, arms folded over his barrel chest. “Hello, Randy.”

“It’s Ramsey, actually,” he muttered. “Uh, anyway, h-how are you on this—this fine night?”

The old man shrugged in a surly way, putting a hand to his beard. “I have trouble sleeping with strangers under my roof.”

“Okay…” He had no idea what to do next or what dad over there expected him to do, so he uncomfortably settled his gaze back out the window. Should’ve grabbed a stick of gum.

The old man took a few steps closer, making Ramsey tense up. “So you’re dating my daughter.”

Marrying, actually. But that was the gist of it. “Yup.” And…? Another awkward silence. Oh gosh. It didn’t help his pulse any.

“I hope you treat her well.”

“Me too.”

Dad casually stared out the other window, humming absent-mindedly. “You know, I was getting a little worried with Percival not being married yet, especially by her age.”

“Oh really?” Ramsey said dismissively, his jaw tightening. He stayed still, afraid to break the brittle atmosphere.

Dad’s hands gripped his arms, knuckles becoming white. “She’s always been a late bloomer. Takes her a while to figure out what she wants.”

“Or maybe she’s fine going at her own pace.” He shrugged. “I mean, I’m a few years older than her, so it’s taken me a while too, then.”

Mild irritation rolled off of him like smoke. “You can say she’s going at her own pace, but I think she just needs to get her priorities sorted.”

“Maybe she already does, but she just doesn’t have the same priorities as you do.”

The old man sighed, slowly shaking his head. “I’m hard on her because I love her. I want her to live a fulfilling life, just like everybody else.”

Ramsey stood up, looking at Percy’s dad straight-on for the first time. Dude was probably four inches taller at the bare minimum. Definitely twice as broad. “Maybe you should respect your daughter more, yeah?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he gulped. Maybe that wasn’t the best thing to say to deescalate the situation. But even if he was murdered that night at the hands of a burly lumberjack, he would never take it back. Seemed like a good hill to die on.

Dad stared back at him, a hard, unreadable expression clouding his face. His stance widened slightly. “Hm. What makes you say that?” His voice was gravelly. Territorial.

“Uh…” Ramsey rubbed the back of his neck, feeling way less confident than he had a few seconds earlier. “Well, you’re actin’ like she doesn’t know what she’s doing. She’s more competent than you give her credit for. And not just that, she’s really capable in general. She just wants you to accept her, ya know.”

The old man squinted at him through the darkness, the bristliness going down. “Hm. Fair enough.” As he walked past, he gave Ramsey a hearty pat on the back before disappearing down the hall.

He released a shaky breath, almost laughing at the ridiculousness of such a strange interaction. Did he really say that? He was never the confrontational type, but that felt pretty good. Was that the old man’s way of grimly accepting him? Honestly, Ramsey couldn’t tell. He hadn’t completely calmed down yet, but he cooled off enough that he went back to Percy’s room, being even more quiet that time, and snuggled beside his still-sleeping fiancée. Very carefully, he put an arm around her and rested his cheek against her shoulder, feeling his heart beat start to even out.

***

Percy felt really warm. She struggled to open her eyes, but when she did, her heart was absolutely bursting to see Ramsey right there. Her fiancé. She held him close for a moment and just felt him breathe. She almost squealed in delight, but that would have been startling, so instead she performed hand flaps of pure ecstasy. It was nice to start the day with excited energy. She jumped into her uniform and neatened her hair, grinning stupidly at nothing.

Sitting back on the edge of her bed, she rubbed her hand across Ramsey’s back. “It is time to wake up because we have several things to do today,” she whispered.

He smiled, reaching over to sleepily pat her leg. “M’kay,” he whispered back.

“I’m going to make sure Meryl is awake too,” she said, but not before she kissed his cheek. She liked the way that his grin grew wider. Percy stepped out the door and shut it behind her, instantly noticing how much colder it was in the hall. It seemed that her parents were already awake. A few pans clanged in the kitchen and just past a wall and through a window, she could see her dad working in the garden with nothing but timid dawn light. It was raspberry season, she remembered with a shudder. She had always hated the way the burrs poked her fingers and how sticky berry juice got all over her hands.

The handle of the door felt especially cold. “Meryl?” she said quietly, knocking and stepping into the room.

“Three steps ahead of you, sister,” Meryl said with a casual salute, shrugging on her coat over her uniform. The case file lay open on the already made bed.

“Excellent. We have much to do today.”

“What’s the plan of attack?”

“Update Eros and the police here on our findings. Look for any new leads.”

Meryl flashed a clever grin. “And then arrest that little bastard.”

“Determined as ever, I see. I’m going to help my mom make breakfast and then we can depart.” Leaving the room, she could already smell the aroma of pancakes. Her mother stood at the stove, pouring batter in a pan. “Hello. What can I help with?” she asked, receiving a startled squeal from the woman.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Sorry.”

“Um, you could work on the eggs in this pan.”

“What kind?”

“Scrambled.”

“How many?”

“Probably seven.”

Percy washed her hands before cracking eggs into a skillet. It felt like those times from all those years ago. Just silently cooking side by side. However, her mother was ever the talkative one and soon broke the wordless truce.

“So tell me about him,” her mother said, flipping a few pancakes.

Percy almost asked who, but realized that she probably meant Ramsey. “What kind of information are you looking for?”

She waved a hand. “Oh, you know. Biographical information. If someone’s dating my daughter, I ought to know about him, right?”

She realized he was all she wanted to talk about, making her blush slightly. Tapping the handle of the pan, Percy wondered what to even say. She definitely couldn’t outright tell her about all the crime that fraught his past. Unfortunately, that didn’t leave too much left in terms of life events. “Well, he went to art school and he does online commissions. He also does appraisal work for the police.”

“That’s something, I suppose. I just hope you’re making good choices.”

“Pretty sure I am.”

“What’s he like?”

Percy’s mouth stretched into an uncontrollable smile. “He’s a complete sweetheart, for one. Great conversationalist. Insatiable sweet tooth. Good at cooking, although he doesn’t do it often. Really smart and skilled. Generally has a mellow temperament. Makes me feel… whole.” There was so much more, but she didn’t want to get into the emotional details with her mom, so she toned her descriptions down a bit “Um, he’s really nice and funny too. You should see him when he plays video games with Molly. They make quite the entertaining duo.”

“Who’s Molly?”

Percy jerked, nearly dropping her spatula. Uh oh. She had been planning on saving that little tidbit of information for later, avoid dropping too many bombshells on the parents all at once. No matter. She could handle a small deviation of plans. She shrugged guiltily, grabbing her phone. “Molly is my foster daughter. Here.” She pulled up a picture of Molly and herself on a hike.

Her mother’s mouth fell open. “What? We have a GRANDCHILD?”

Percy quickly covered her ears, the sound clanging in her eardrums. Ah, she had a feeling that would happen.

“AND YOU DIDN’T TELL US?”

“There is no need to wake the dead, mother.”

Her mom ran to the back door and flung it open. “RICHARD WE HAVE A GRANDDAUGHTER!”

Her father whipped around in alarm, nearly dropping the bowl of raspberries he was picking. “What? When did Percy get pregnant?”

“No, she has a foster daughter! Come look at the pictures! She’s absolutely adorable!”

Percy huffed a sigh of relief. At least they were happy, considering they had been nagging her about children for a while. Their reactions, however, were always too exaggerated for her sensitive ears. When breakfast was ready, she could hardly eat due to the barrage of questions thrown her way. “Why’d you decide to foster? How old is she? When’d you take her in? When do we get to see her? Why’d you take so dang long to tell us?” They even asked Ramsey a few curt questions, seeming to warm up to him somewhat, even if it were incrementally. Eventually, they were able to get out the door after several reminders that they had important work to do.

“When will you visit again?” her mother asked, taking her arm.

Percy gently pulled away and crossed the porch, the contact feeling too intense. “I don’t know.”

Her mother deflated, putting a mildly annoyed hand on her hip. “Really, you seem to forget how important family is.”

“I don’t forget things easily.”

Her father fixed her with a stare. “Welp, good luck on your investigation.”

“Thank you.”

“Call us, will you?”

She stared back for a moment, looking at her mother and father side by side. They were her parents but they felt like old strangers, embittered by the memories that had been marinating over the years. “Of course.” They walked down the gravel path and Percy could finally breathe easy. Close proximity to her parents was always distressing.

“Glad to get away, huh?” Meryl asked, stretching. “I forgot how insane they are.”

“Nothing could’ve prepared me for that,” Ramsey agreed.

Percy sighed as she unlocked the car. The slight chill of the morning was refreshing. “I apologize for the actions of my parents.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Meryl said with a pat on the shoulder. “Lots of people have overbearing parents.” She decided to be nice and let Ramsey sit in the front seat.

Percy started the car, feeling an almost magnetic push to get away from the place. She was hoping that if they couldn’t catch Morez that day, then they could at least chase her back to Sweet Jazz. That way, they’d be away from her parents and better yet, closer to Molly. This whole thing was becoming quite exhausting.

At least something good came from the escapade thus far. Percy flushed slightly, unsure of when to say something. Would it be awkward to just bring it up out of the blue? Well, she didn’t know how else to say it. Besides that, she was absolutely bursting to say it, but she tried to keep it casual. “By the way, Meryl, we’re engaged now.”

“Pff, _what_?” Meryl burst out in delighted giggles, her pleased surprise showing through her face. “YOU TWO ARE FINANCES?”

Ramsey joined in the giggling. “F-finances?” He put a fist over his grin as he began to laugh harder.

Meryl was laughing so hard that she had to gasp a response. “I meant to say fin—fian—financ—fi—fiancés!”

“C-c-cat got your t-t-tongue, Meryl?” Ramsey teased.

“Hey, you stutter too sometimes!” She had her arms wrapped around her stomach as she convulsed with laughter. “I’m just so surprised that it just _happened_! I wasn’t expecting it to happen so soon! You really got that man, Perc’!”

Percy smiled and shyly rubbed the back of her neck. “I suppose I did.”

“Spill the juice! How’d it happen?”

Not eager to relive her social awkwardness, Percy tried to explain it in a way that didn’t make her wince. With Ramsey, she was all for social awkwardness, but not so much around other people. Her face was hot and it felt like she was trying to talk around an ice cube in her mouth. “Well, I brought up a hypothetical situation to see Ramsey’s thoughts of marriage, but apparently that was too obvious, but he said he wanted to marry me, so we decided that would be good.” She left out the part where they kissed a lot.

“So what’s the date?” Meryl asked, finally calming down. Her cheeks were still bright pink.

“August 23rd,” Percy answered.

“No, not today’s date! The wedding!”

Percy and Ramsey stared at each other, both at a loss for words. He looked just as off-put as she felt. There were too many hoops to jump through before even getting to that point. She forgot to tell Meryl about some of their… Molly-related difficulties. “Uh… wedding?” Ramsey eventually stammered.

Meryl rolled her eyes over-dramatically. “Good grief, do I have to hold your hand through everything? When you get married, you have a _wedding,_ you dolts.”

Eyes wide, Percy stared at the road ahead. Anxiety swept through her stomach. They _wanted_ to get married, but they weren’t sure of how possible it would be at the time. That and the idea of a wedding seemed terrifying. “I’m scared of big events with large numbers of people that consist of me being the center of attention.”

“I concur,” Ramsey said shakily.

Meryl pushed up her glasses with a knowing grin. “Oh ho, young grasshoppers. That’s why you make it a small event with a few people that’s super chill.”

“Per—haps,” Percy said slowly with a shrug. Oh no. She didn’t even think about a wedding. Oh no. It appeared that she would once again have to enlist the help of Wingman Meryl. But later. Much, much later.

“Oh wow, look! The police station!” Ramsey gasped with completely artificial shock.

Meryl squinted at him. “I see you trying to change the subject.” She stepped out of the car with a serious tone. “We’ll continue this conversation later.” And she shut the door.

Percy and Ramsey shared an awkward grimace before following Meryl out of the car. Inside the station an officer awaited their update, looking quite burnt-out.

“How’s it going?” the man asked, extending his hand.

Percy gave it a shake. “Not in the way we hoped. We found Morez in a hideout up the canyon at that pond.”

“Gotcha,” he replied, jotting down a few notes. “Me and my dad used to go hunting up there.”

“She escaped using the powers of her epithet.”

He sucked some air through his teeth. “Inscribed, eh? That’s definitely something we didn’t know.”

Percy nodded grimly. “Yes. We’re unsure of what it is, but she has a way of controlling people.”

“Hm, not ideal.”

“No kidding,” Meryl grumbled. “She made us stop and waste three hours meditating while she got away.”

Clicking his tongue, the officer shook his head. “Not good, not good. And you didn’t see where she went?”

Percy sagged slightly. “No.”

The officer chuckled, sitting at the computer at the front desk. “Looks like your luck is just as bad as ours. This homicide case is killin’ me. Wait. Poor choice of words.”

“Oh really?” Meryl leaned against the desk. “Having trouble finding whodunnit?”

The officer laughed darkly. “We’re not even _there_ yet. Can’t tell you much, but we’re having trouble even identifying the victim, let alone the murder weapon or the killer.” The genial mood of the room dropped a few notches.

“Yikes,” Ramsey said.

“It was some young lady, couldn’t be much older than me. No ID, no one in town seems to know her, no missing person reports that match her within a hundred mile radius. Two witnesses. One old lady that heard a scream down the street that _might_ have been around the time of the murder and the poor kid that found the body.” The man put a finger to his temple, slowly shaking his head. “I feel real bad for the guy. He was walkin’ home from his soccer meet and hasn’t been able to talk since. It’s awful ‘cause we gotta question him, but the poor kid’s in therapy right now for the shock.”

“Yes, awful,” Percy quietly agreed. In her line of work, she saw too many victims to count, but sometimes the most tragic ones were the victims of circumstance.

“Do you have a description?” Meryl asked. “We can look out for any matching missing person reports that might come up.”

“You see, that’s the problem,” the man said. “I’ll leave out the gory details, but I’ll say this: whoever did this did not want her to be identified. We know that she can’t weigh more than 130 pounds and has a height of 5’4”.”

Meryl gaped. “That—that’s _all_?”

“It’s bad. It’s real bad. They desensitise you to this stuff in training, but man, nothing could have prepared me for that.”

Something cold tightened over Percy’s stomach. There were murders, sure, but she never expected something quite so gruesome to happen in her hometown. She noticed that Ramsey was looking a little green. “I’m sorry to hear that,” she said, stumbling with the words.

“Uh, anyway,” Meryl cut in, “good luck with that. We’re gonna… gonna go now.”

“Aiight. Good luck. We’ll be keeping an eye out for Morez.” The officer glumly went back to his computer screen.

Percy walked back out of the station, a little dazed, Meryl displaying a similar bewilderment. “Wow. Apparently everything sucks for everyone,” the ginger muttered. “You feelin’ alright, Ramsey?”

Ramsey, with a fist over his mouth, nodded slightly. “S-sorry. Squeamish.”

Percy couldn’t blame him. After hearing the officer’s limited description, her imagination also went to work piecing the information together into a visual. She wanted to say something to lighten the mood, but she didn’t know what. “Um, I suppose we should update Eros now,” she said, pulling out her phone.

The buttery voice answered after the first ring. “Hellooo, Perc’. I have been anxiously awaiting an update. Please tell me your investigation has borne fruit.”

“Sorry, sir,” she sighed. “We found her hideout in the woods, but she ran away. We found out she has an epithet that has the power to control people in some fashion.”

“Well diddly dog darnit,” he slowly said. She could imagine him holding his tongue between his teeth. “No more leads?”

“None. What would you like us to do now?”

“Hm… Let’s… have you come home. I’d rather you be within reach in case something pops up. If Arrieta finds her, then we can send you out again. Is King Midas with you?”

“Who?”

Eros sounded utterly flabbergasted. “Wha—bu—Ki-king Midas, of course! You know, the gerbil man with a golden eye? Can’t miss ‘im.”

Percy couldn’t help but laugh. That sure lightened the mood and she was grateful for it. “I thought he didn’t get a new nickname.”

“Well, I thought I’d repay the gum favor eventually. He better be grateful ‘cause I spent an entire minute of my time thinking up this one. Here, hand him the phone.”

Ramsey took the phone when she handed it to him, looking confused. “Eros?”

Eros used his most regal-sounding voice. “I graciously bestow upon you a new nickname. You are now crowned as King Midas. Any objections?”

“Nope.”

“Great, now gimme back to Perc’.”

Ramsey handed the phone back with an understated chuckle and a newfound smile, looking a little less sick. “Anyway,” Percy continued, “is that all?”

“Yes, that is all. Come back home and await any new leads. Ca-click.”

“Heh, ya hear that?” Ramsey said, excitedly elbowing Meryl. “I’m King Midas now!”

“Isn’t he the one that turned his daughter to gold and starved to death?” Meryl replied with a roll of the eyes.

“But you’re forgetting the ‘King’ part, my loyal subject.”

Meryl sniffed and pushed up her glasses, sliding into the front seat of the car. “Looks like I’ve got a kingdom to overthrow.”

“Well dadgummit.”

Percy smiled and laughed along, using any excuse to not think of Luciana Morez on the run or of the murder. More than anything, she needed a break for a few hours.

***

“Am I wearing this right?”

“Yes, Sylvie.”

“Does this dress make me look fat?”

“No, Molly.” Percy snickered as she helped her adjust the fencing jacket. There were few people in the gym that day and even fewer in one of the practice rooms set aside for fencing. Rows of cubbies against the wall housed fencing gear sorted by size, but finding fitting jackets for Molly and Sylvie was still a pain. Besides them, there were only four other individuals at the other end of the room, joined in spirited battle. After making it back to Sweet Jazz, Percy had dropped off Ramsey and Meryl at their respective residences, both redheads exhausted and wanting nothing more than a day to snooze away. Although she was tired as well, Percy decided to dedicate the time to Molly before things had a chance to get crazy again.

Molly’s mild discomfort was evident in the way she kept tugging at the strap on the back. “This is weird,” she said with a giggle, clipping her clouds of hair back and fitting them inside the helmet.

“This is way cool!” Sylvie exclaimed, giving the saber a few experimental swings. He was holding it incorrectly, but he would learn all in due time.

“I agree. Fencing is ‘way cool’.” Percy was glad that the mask could obscure her childish grin. Elation wooshed through her body, exhilaration buzzing from her sword hand and up her arm. When she was fencing, she could convert her happy stimming energy into bouncing on her feet and swinging her saber, creating a lovely circle of energy transferral. Fencing gave her life and she put that life right back into her fencing. Where to even begin? She decided it would be best not to begin at the very beginning, which would be the history of fencing, and start with stance and form.

“Firstly, stand like this. You need a strong foundation to launch your attacks off of.” Percy walked circles around the kids, giving them correctional nudges here and there. “Change the angle of your foot. Straighten your back. Widen your stance. Bend your legs.” Soon enough, she had them practice moving back and forth, lunging, and parrying. They had soon gotten the hang of the simple moves and it was obvious they were eager for more.

Molly lunged forward, slashing at fiends invisible to any eyes but hers. “I feel like I’m in a movie!”

Sylvie laughed, shooting an overjoyed look at her. “Don’t say what I know you’re about to say!”

“But I must!”

“Wait—”

“My name is—”

Sylvie took off his gauntlet and cast it to her feet. “If you win, you can say it. If I win, you can’t say it.”

Molly took the glove and slapped him across his mask. “You’re on!”

Amused, Percy took a step back, interested to see how it would turn out. The previous thirty minutes of practice had gone well, so it may be a formidable duel for the two of them. Timidly, they both faced each other, checking that their posture was satisfactory. Percy flashed a thumbs up. “On garde.”

Molly immediately lunged forward, jabbing for Sylvie’s shoulders and chest. She was definitely an offensive fighter. “Remember, Molly,” Percy said, “only make the minimal movement necessary to complete your attack. You don’t want to leave an opening.”

Sylvie, being the more conservative fighter, blocked her jabs with effective, but heavily rehearsed motions. “Loosen up, Sylvie. Put more strength and deliberation behind your parries,” Percy instructed.

Both kids tried to incorporate the critiques, shifting their fighting styles only slightly. Though they were quite sloppy, it was apparent that they were getting the bare basics down and enjoying it as well.

“You just hate that movie ‘cause it’s a romance!” Molly said, her wide grin barely visible through her visor.

“I—I—I—” Slyvie sputtered. His face was turning red, whether from the physical exertion or the conversational topic, Percy couldn’t tell. “It’s cheesy!”

“The kiss scene at the end embarrasses you!”

“Wha—No it doesn’t!” A vibrant shade a fuschia was now visible through his mask. He fumbled with the saber.

Taking the opening, Molly pressed her saber into his shoulder, the tip bowing. “A-ha!”

Sylvie stumbled back, took the helmet off, and panted out a few laughs. His strawberry blonde hair sat in messy tufts about his head. “Well played, using psychological tricks to catch me off-guard. You can say it now.”

Taking up a fencing stance once again, Molly stretched out her sword. “My name is Inigo Montoya! You killed my father! Prepare to die!”

As soon as she said it, one of the other fencers across the room raised his saber. “Ayy, good movie!”

“Ayy!” Molly set her helmet and saber on the ground, revealing messy bunches of curls. “The ‘fro does not like to be contained. ‘Kay, I have to use the bathroom real quick!” she whispered, running off.

Sylvie smiled after her, sitting on the floor and taking a moment to readjust his hair and glasses. The color still remained in his cheeks.

“You’re doing well,” Percy said, joining him on the ground.

“Heh, thanks! It’s pretty fun.”

The conversation dropped for a moment. There was never much to say between them unless it was about Molly. And the moment, the girl was the only thing that filled her mind. Percy needed to talk to her in private, but she kept putting it off. Today was the day she was going to bring it up. Adoption. “So… how is Molly?” she slowly asked.

“Oh yes. I talked to her and took a few notes. However, I hope you understand that I can only divulge limited information as I maintain strict confidentiality with my patients.”

“Of course. I would just like to know what I can do to help her.”

Sylvie fished an itemized list out of his pocket, straightening out the creases. “After thoroughly examining some of her behavior and feelings, I believe that this will be the best course of action until she displays any changes.” He handed over the list.

_Positive affirmations (especially from adults)_

_Emphasize her achievements_

_Random shows of affection_

_Make her feel important and heard_

_Let her earn things for herself, but make sure she knows love isn’t earned_

_Give her things to do that help her feel useful/needed/wanted_

_Remind her she’s not alone_

How incredibly helpful to have it all written out. Random shows of affection? Percy gave the girl hugs when they were parting or greeting each other, but not randomly. She wondered if it would be awkward to give random, unprovoked hugs throughout the day, but she couldn’t help but feel good about it. And giving her things to do, something she hadn’t thought of. Percy certainly had a habit of becoming a one-man band with housework as she was used to falling into a schedule and doing things herself. That and she assumed it would be nice for Molly to not carry any responsibility after the hell her father put her through. Maybe she could start with having Molly help with making dinner. She wondered how adoption would fit on the list. Making her feel important, probably. Wanted. Not alone. Percy tried to read through the list a fourth time, but her vision blurred slightly with tears. Hastily, she blinked them back and tried on a smile.

Her chest stung with everything—the sorrow, the worry, the gratitude, the anticipation of bringing up the question. “Thank you, Sylvie. It really means a lot.”

The boy shrunk back a little at the praise. “Oh, uh, of course.” Reddening again, he smiled at the ground. “Molly’s my closest friend, after all.” He jerked his head up at seeing the girl in question bound across the gym, beaming. “Wha—did she hear that?” he whispered frantically, cheeks becoming even more ruddy.

“Positive affirmations, Sylvie,” Percy whispered back with a laugh.

Whether or not she had heard that was unclear. Molly was smiling brightly for no reason, but continued on as per usual. “Let us duel again, Sylvie!” she declared.

Sylvie jammed his helmet back on, probably to hide the color in his face. “Yeah!”

After perhaps another hour of sparring, Percy noticed that the kids were starting to tire out, so she determined it would be a good time to go home. As they dropped Sylvie off at his house, Molly didn’t let him leave without a hug, much to the boy’s surprise. Percy waved before driving away.

Molly wrapped her arms around herself in delight. “That was super fun! Thanks for teaching us and letting Sylvie come too!”

Percy had to limit herself to giving the wheel a few sharp taps with the pads of her fingers. “You’re welcome! I’m quite pleased to see that you have an interest in my sport.”

“Next time, we gotta take Ramsey along! Imma beat his a—uh. Butt.”

Speaking of… Well, perhaps she wouldn’t get there quite yet. There were, however, many things that demanded to be talked about. Her pulse rose to hammer at her eardrums. “Do you enjoy being with Sylvie?”

The girl bounced in her seat. “Yeah! He acts like a grown-up, but he’s really just a big sweetheart!”

“I’m glad. I think he’s a good friend to you.” The back of Percy’s neck prickled as if the world was staring daggers into her. How to broach the subject delicately? “Well, he talked to you about… emotional things recently, correct?” The words felt clumsy across her tongue. She wasn’t quite sure how to word it at all.

Cocking her head, Molly raised an eyebrow. “Well, yeah. How’d you know?”

Percy blanched slightly, not wanting to make her feel like some mental patient. “The thing is, I asked him to talk to you, to help you work through some of the struggles you are facing. I didn’t want you to do it alone, but I felt that he could talk to you better than I could, with him being a therapist and I’m just…” She released a stream of air poisoned by the admission of her own shortcomings. Molly quietly waited for her to continue. Speak candidly. “As you know, I’m just autistic.” Her thoughts were awkward and clumsy and tripping over each other on the way out of her mouth. “I often feel inadequate to give you the help and emotional support you need and deserve. I-I know that I work a lot and that I’m always awkward about these things and that I get emotionally distant—”

“Wait, Percy?” Molly’s face was knit with concern and something loving and a thread of _je ne sais quoi._ “Do you remember that time you dropped me off at Meryl’s place?”

Percy huffed a small laugh. “That time you had a baking disaster and came home covered in confectioner’s sugar?”

Molly grinned. “Yeah. That time. Well, she’s a big nerd and apparently has an autism folder on her computer and spent a few hours gushing over all the research she’s collected.” She laughed fondly. “It’s just as bad as Sylvie’s yoyo collection! But anyway, it was really… informative, if you know what I mean.” The girl shifted in her seat and tugged at her sleeves. “Well, what I mean to say is that you don’t have to apologize. I kinda get it, I guess. I understand things. And just know that since you don’t feel like… like the perfect mom, well, I don’t feel like the perfect daughter either. But that’s fine, right? We don’t gotta be perfect. We just gotta love each other.”

Percy didn’t know what to say and, in fact, couldn’t say anything due to the tears spilling over her cheeks. She hastily scrubbed a sleeve over her cheeks, blinking rapidly to clear her vision in order to see the road. “Thanks,” she said, voice cracking.

“Of course.”

It took a minute, but Percy mastered herself enough to continue speaking. “Molly. I have something important I’d like to ask you.”

Her eyes widened and the smile slipped from her mouth. Nervously, she tugged at her curls, waiting.

“Oh, it’s nothing bad,” she quickly assured. “I-I’ve been a tad anxious to tell you because I wasn’t sure what you’d think, but… what would you think about adoption? Me adopting you, I mean.” Her brain was blazing through her worries lightning fast, so when Molly didn’t respond after a few seconds, she quickly tried to mend the situation. “I know that your father will get out of prison next year, so if you’d rather not so that you can live with him again, that will be fine because I don’t want to take you away from your family or anything—” Percy was cut off by a sob.

Molly’s eyes became shining emeralds, her lips trembling, tears pouring down her cheeks. “That would b-be real—really good,” she blubbered. “I—” she sniffed “—didn’t know anyone wanted me so much.” Unable to speak any more, she pressed the sleeves of her bear hoodie over her face and cried.

Startled by the response, Percy fumbled in her mind with what to do next. She reached over to pat the girl on the shoulder. “Of course I want you. I love you and I want you in my life.”

Molly looked up to smile shakily, but her face crumpled again with emotion. Percy realized that another wave of tears were rolling down her own cheek. She quickly wiped it away, turning back to the road. Perhaps she could have timed things better because behind the wheel was the worst place to cry.

“Th-thanks Percy!” Molly wailed, bringing the sobbing down a little bit. “I love you too! S-sorry, I didn’t mean to ugly cry!”

“But you’re beautiful!”

“Augh, thanks!”

“What do you say to starting some paperwork when we get home?”

“Yes!” Molly’s laugh was brittle, but completely sincere.

As soon as the car was parked, they both leapt out of their seats, Molly practically jumping into her arms. Percy held her tightly in a hug padded by the hoodie. Gently, she wiped away another of the girl’s tears and gave her a kiss on the head. Molly’s cheeks were becoming raw from all the scrubbing, but her smile was unbreakable. Percy matched her expression, feeling a bright burst of hope. She had a feeling that things would turn out okay, that everything would come together in the end.

***

Bonus: Discord once again

_imatthesoupstore_ : @rams

_rams_ : whatcha want

_imatthesoupstore_ : you didn’t join us on the chat the other night we were sad ;(

_rams:_ I was… preoccupied

_imatthesoupstore_ : anyway, can you draw something?

_rams_ : depends

What is it

_imatthesoupstore_ : okay. Hear me out

Kermit the frog

Pushing a can of Chef Boyardee’s

Into a tar pit

“ **I'm sorry, chef, but your fossils will enlighten future generations.** ”

_rams_ : ...

That sounds cursed

_imatthesoupstore_ : the boys crave it

  
_rams_ : consider it done

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually a cursed image that exists in my friend group. It’s as cursed as it sounds. I like to imagine that the boys coerce Ramsey into drawing weird stuff for them and add it to a chat called The Cursed Compendium.  
> Also, I ended up having to make another document for this story because my original one reached 140 pages and was taking forever to load each time I pulled it up. Can’t wait to see what the final page count will be once I combine them when I’m done!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! Sorry about the slower upload this time around. With working forty-hour weeks and trying to keep my friends from leaving me and the fact that I'm out of buffer chapters, it's been a little slow this time around. But here's the next chapter! Huzzah!

The lights of the dashboard pierced the velvety darkness, each tick on the gas gage an electric green. Percy felt as if her body was buzzing, as much as the engine humming or her phone rattling on the center console. With so many things happening, so many steps being taken, she wondered if she was all out of her allotment of euphoria for the year. Though she was still happy, she was certainly drained.

Earlier, she and Molly had spent hours together, filling out forms, making dinner, talking about what the future would bring. For Percy, she was brimming with this overwhelming feeling of having made it. Her hands still shook with the unbelief that she had grasped it. When she was a teenager, heck, even a year ago, she would have never imagined that she would actually have a family of her own. It always seemed like some impossible dream, akin to “maybe one day I’ll quit my job and become a nomad,” only to realize that one can’t escape from society so easily. For her it was “maybe one day I’ll have friends and a love interest and children,” only to remember that she was an autistic asexual. She’d always laugh off the thought and try to comfort herself by turning it all into a joke. Isn’t it funny that the robot wants to be like the humans? Robots don’t deserve to be humans. Yet, here she was, standing atop a metaphorical mountain and admiring the view below where the sorrows that wrought her past couldn’t reach.

She almost squealed out of excitement, but she was too tired and hit with a realization that left her speechless. Percy had _people_ with her and they loved her as much as she loved them. It wasn’t some fantastical dream. She couldn’t quite explain what she was feeling or why there were sudden tears in her eyes, but she was really happy to be validated.

“Sheesh,” she whispered to herself, scrubbing at her face. She had already cried enough for a lifetime and there was still a job to do. She pulled the car over on the side of the street and reached for her phone. She was excited to tell him.

***

A buzzing sound woke Ramsey up from his nap. Ick. What was that? He had to fight himself to roll off the couch. What time was it? He reached for his phone, seeing that it was the source of the buzzing sound and that it was midnight. Wow, he slept a long time. It was nice considering the considerable amount of stress the day had brought.

He almost forgot what he was supposed to do, but he eventually got around to answering the phone. “H’llo?”

“Hi.” Oh, that was Percy’s voice.

“Uh, wha’s up, doll?” he slurred. What he meant to ask was why she was calling at such an ungodly hour, but that might have come across as rude.

“I have good news. The stakeout at Morez’s house has reported activity!”

Of course. He nodded fondly, although she couldn’t see it. That was classic Percy, always excited about a new lead.

“I’m outside your apartment right now, if you’d like to come.”

“Sure.”

“Excellent. There are also a host of important things I’d like to discuss with you. I’ll explain more on the way.” And she hung up.

Good thing he fell asleep in the fresh shorts and shirt he had changed into when he got home. Important things, huh? Slipping into his sweatshirt and stomping on his shoes, he grabbed the house key and stepped outside. He shivered in the coolness of the night. The headlights of the cruiser were almost blinding and the city lights reflected on the quilt of clouds above. Looked like it might rain.

When he got in the car, Percy smiled warmly with a few hand flaps. “Hello, my betrothed,” she greeted, making his heart leap.

And she called him a dork. “Hello, fiancée.” He couldn’t stop grinning himself.

“So…” Percy started, tapping the pads of her fingers together. “Meryl is already there because she and Eros took over the night watch of the stakeout. They saw lights turn on a few minutes ago and called me before making any moves.”

“Alright. What about Molly?”

“She was already asleep and I didn’t want to disturb her, so she’s still at my apartment. I left a note for her in the case that this extends into the morning, but I’m hoping that we can resolve it before too long.” She smiled at her hands. “We went fencing today and she said that she wants you to come next time so that she can beat your butt.”

“I’m sure she does,” he said with a snicker. Even if he got defeated and disgraced by a twelve year old girl, it would be nice to spend the time with her. He’d have to hang out with Percy and Molly the next day, but it depended a lot on how the case went.

“And one more thing,” she said, taking his hand in both of hers. “I finally brought it up with Molly and it’s official. I’m adopting her!”

He couldn’t see her face very well in the dim light, but from the way her hands clasped his, he could tell that she was bursting with ecstasy. Ramsey felt the same way, but it hurt inside knowing that he probably couldn’t fit in with the picture. “That’s great,” he said, voice a confusing mix of happy and distraught. He tried to smile in an attempt to hide the way ice sliced away at his lungs.

“There’s more!” Percy gave an excited wiggle. “Before, I purposefully avoided the subject because… well, I was afraid of what Molly would think about it. But when we started the paperwork today, I thoroughly read over all of the information we needed twice. Since she’s my foster daughter, we would have needed to reregister together, but once she’s my adoptive daughter, you won’t have to go through any of that.”

His heart stopped. “Huh?”

“You don’t need to fill out applications or do any interviews. We can just get married without legal restrictions.” She cupped his cheek. “You will be unable to adopt her alongside me, but I think that it will work out nicely for our family.”

Ramsey stared at her, dumbfounded, forgetting to breathe. “We can… be a family?”

“Yes!” She leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek, then turned her attention to the road. “We should probably get going now. And also…” She gave a nervous little laugh. “I know that your lease ends in a couple months. By that time, the adoption will most likely have been completed. Would you—would you like to move in with us then?”

“Y-yeah.” Wow. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. His jaw was hanging loose. Just wow. Felt good. He folded his arms tightly, trying to process everything that meant. Wow. “Thanks, Percy.” He hadn’t meant for his words to waver, but they did anyway.

She cocked her head. “For what?”

He couldn’t think of what to say for a moment. “Oh, I du—dunno. For changing my life, I guess.”

“Oh, well, I—augh, you make me all mushy,” she stammered. After a pause, she spoke again. “Thanks for changing my life as well.”

He couldn’t believe that it could actually happen, never even imagined that this was where he’d end up. He couldn’t stop grinning. They continued the drive in silence, but nothing needed to be said. They just drank in the tranquility that sweetened the air. However, the atmosphere didn’t last long as they parked down the street from Morez’s house. Sure enough, there was one light spilling through the windows of the second floor. The back of Ramsey’s neck prickled as they joined Eros and Meryl, waiting quietly in the neighbor’s bushes. The white SUV sat on the driveway beside the house, its trunk open and filled with boxes.

“So Perc’ and King Midas make their grand entrance,” Eros muttered, gesturing for them to join behind the bush.

Ramsey grinned at the nickname. It made him feel giddy.

Eros stroked his mustache in concentration. Of course, he was the type to wear his sunglasses at night. “So here’s the plan of attack,” he said. “We break down the door—”

“We pick the lock,” Meryl cut in.

“Okay, we pick the lock and then I go to the backyard to make sure no one escapes through the back window again, then Perc’ and Meryl lead the charge upstairs.”

“What do I do?” Ramsey asked.

“Oh yeah, forgot you were here.”

“You acknowledged my presence not one minute ago, but okay.”

“King Midas, you hang around downstairs and stay out of the way. If someone tries to escape, you work your magic.”

“‘Kay.”

“Aiight. Let’s storm the castle.”

The group trailed behind Meryl as she crept up to the door. Kneeling at the lock, she whipped a pin out of her hair and began to pick it. “19 seconds,” Percy whispered when she had finished. “Nine for the lock, ten for the deadbolt.”

Meryl gave a stiff nod, peering around the edge of the door as she opened it. The front room was slightly different from when they left it. Darkness flooded their vision, but they could see a box on the kitchen counter, spilling over with tableware.

“Is she… packing?” Ramsey muttered.

“I’d want to leave the country too after this big mess,” Eros said, stepping softly into the house. He padded across the floor and slipped through the back door, training a gun on the windows above.

Together, Meryl and Percy followed suit, walking like wildcats to the stairs where yellow light fell down in a landslide. From above, Ramsey could hear hushed voices, and not just a few. Here and there, laughs cascaded down. Percy and Meryl shot a look at each other before heading up, the blonde taking the lead. Seconds later, screams rose, making Ramsey jump.

“Stop in the name of the law!” That was Percy.

“Jump out the window!”

“There’s some big cop out there!”

“Front window, then!”

Taking it as his cue, Ramsey ran out front to see four figures leaping out the window and landing on the grass without making any sound. He grabbed the arm of the nearest person with the intent to turn their jacket to gold. The figure, he now noticed as awfully short, wailed and frantically tried to squirm out of his grip. Then he saw her face.

“M-molly?” he stammered.

She looked up at him, shock and terror in her face. Time seemed to pause. Past them ran Giovanni, Fred, and Morez, leaping into the white SUV on the curb. His grip loosened in surprise and Molly jumped into the vehicle just as one of the boys slammed the door shut. The car tore down the street, wheels screeching.

Ramsey stared down the road after them with his mouth gaping. At that moment, it all clicked.

“They got away?” Eros called, running through the house and to the front yard. “Did the lady use her epithet on you?”

Ramsey didn’t think to respond.

“Dammit,” Eros muttered as Meryl and Percy joined them, both looking horrified.

Percy looked like her world had ended.

“They went that way! Let’s go!” Eros called, dashing to his cruiser with Meryl right behind him.

Percy ran by, fumbling with her car keys before tossing them to Ramsey. “I-I’m going with them!” She turned and shot across the street, wiping away tears spilling down her paling cheeks.

Ramsey couldn’t move. It all happened so fast. He stood with his feet rooted in the grass, feeling the cold but not really noticing it. Giovanni’s clique was involved from the beginning and they dragged Molly along too. Did… a few days earlier, did he unknowingly help them in this whole mess? Oh gosh. He felt sick. He never thought it would end up being such a big deal, but back then he had no idea that they were actually involved in this case. And Molly. He could still see her terrified face. So she had been sneaking out to help Giovanni, and by extension Morez? He still couldn’t believe it. Last time with the mafia case was different. Last time, they were able to join forces in a common goal. But what about now? Those kids were just outright stealing cash? This time, they were on the other side of the law, no two ways about it.

Conflict tore at his gut. He just wanted to help those kids out and respect Molly’s wishes, but should he have told Percy right out of the gates? Should he tell her now? If he told her, it would seem like he was hiding things from her. But was he really _obligated_ to tell her? Oh, that was just the criminal in him coming out. The part of him he was most disgusted with. He let out a groan of frustration and put his fist to his forehead. He hated the way that this whole situation made him feel like he had to choose between two sides. It made him wonder how much of it was his fault.

Augh, he shouldn’t have helped those kids. It probably just encouraged them. And Molly. Ramsey stared out at the road, chewing viciously at his cheek. He was seriously not okay with her being with that crazy lady. He should have just told Percy about Molly sneaking out earlier, back when they had some semblance of control over the situation. It was _his_ fault. He should have protected her when he had the chance. Should have been a good parent when he had the chance.

Ramsey fell to his knees, sucking in rapid breaths that sliced at his throat. He was shaking so hard and his body was radiating self-hatred and the dirt dug into his knees. He had to swallow hard to keep himself from throwing up. Lying in the fetal position, he prayed that the pain in his convulsing muscles would go away. In his limbs, he felt nothing but the buzz of blood rushing through them at a rapid pace. Electricity sparked and crackled in his brain and the screaming in his head clawed at his ears. It was all excruciating.

After a long time—he had no idea how long—Ramsey was left shivering in the grass. Alone. The complete panic uncomfortably brushed an icy hand across his shoulders as it left. Looking up, he saw only a thick layer of clouds coming down to caress the rooftops of the tallest buildings in the distance. It hadn't started to rain yet, but he could smell it coming. They keys waited expectantly on the ground beside him. It looked like he wasn’t really needed anymore, so he shuffled across the street and to Percy’s cruiser. Yeesh, it felt strange to be the one in the driver’s seat and completely wrong to be the only one in there period. Could he even drive the thing? Being right out of that anxiety attack, he wasn’t so sure.

He shakily turned the key, carefully looking over everything. Headlights, gas, gear shifter, headlights, seatbelt, mirrors, parking brake. And music. Percy rarely ever, if at all, turned on the radio, but he tuned in to the classic rock station and turned it up loud enough that he couldn’t hear himself think. It hurt less if he could keep his brain numb. Which one was the gas pedal again? Wait, how to disengage the parking brake? He took a sec to skim through the owner’s manual.

— _Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies_ —

He started the car and tentatively turned the wheel. The second time he’d driven in twelve years. Geez, what was wrong with him? Very gently, he pressed the gas pedal and decided that five under the speed limit was a safe speed to go. At a stop sign, he accidentally hit the brakes too hard and lurched forward in his seat. There weren’t many people on the road, but—HOLY SHIT he totally cut that guy off and cut it close.

— _Would you stay if she promised you heaven? Will you ever win?_ —

It took some figuring and some heart-stopping moments, but he eventually made the short drive back to his apartment and could finally breathe again after making a horrendously crooked park. He’d have to take Meryl up on those driving lessons. That is, if life were ever able to continue. After all that just happened, he wasn’t so sure. Ramsey had to drag himself up the stairs and to his apartment. Before collapsing on the couch, he stared at the trash for a moment. That’s where he belonged.

***

Everything was blaring so loudly that it was deafening. The sirens, the voices, the traffic, her own mind. It was all screaming and banging at her skull in percussive blows. Percy couldn’t handle it all. But she had to keep calm. She had to find Molly. Although she didn’t notice it, she was rocking back and forth rapidly from the back seat. The seat belt snapped and yanked on her chest, sending fire across her body and she wanted to stop it but didn’t know how.

Eros spoke into the radio, which crackled to life like a staccato bullet to the brain. The voices that responded were shrilly harsh and gravelly, enough to crack glass. Eros’ and Meryl’s voices became a dull rumble in the earth-shattering noise. She could somewhat hear what they were saying over the incessant growling of the car, but she couldn’t quite grasp the meaning, just barely slipping out of her fingers.

“What’s wrong? Is she okay?”

“Molly was up there with those ex-blaster kids and Morez. I guess they ran off before you could see them.”  
  


“Molly as in her daughter?”

“Yes.”

“Ah shit. It’ll be alright, Perc’. Just stay frosty back there, okay?”

Percy watched the lights go by outside, the sight blazing and burning her eyes, but she didn’t think to look away. She could feel her hand slipping on the grip of reality, feel herself falling in the raucous noise that surrounded her. Each sound was sharp and excruciating to her ears as if her very brain was being sliced open. It crashed in on her, forcing her to wrap herself in a tight ball and cry into her arms until it could all go away.

“Perc’? Percy? You alright? Oh, I think she’s having a meltdown.”

“Double shit.”

It had been a long time since she’d had a meltdown.

***

Ramsey was an hour into his apartment pacing when he heard a knock at the door, making his blood run cold. Stopping in his tracks, he strained to hear who it might have been. Soft whispers were barely audible over the distant street noise. Though he couldn’t identify the voices, he had a feeling he knew who it was. He opened the door to find three kids standing there.

He took in the sight of them for a moment, the paralyzing fear in his system starting to fade. “Molly, thank God.”

The girl couldn’t bring herself to look up at him, but he could see that her eyes were a little red. “Can we come in?”

“Of course, sweetheart.”

Molly slumped inside, followed by Fred and Giovanni. The apprehension was evident in their faces. Fred bit down on his lip, Giovanni tugged at his hair, and none of them would look at him. They were all very, very quiet. But they didn’t look hurt. That’s all that mattered.

Ramsey stood before them, rocking back and forth on his feet, trying to think of what to say. What would a good parent do? Or what would Percy do? What should _he_ do? “Okay. You better be doin’ some explaining _real quick,_ ” he said, trying to keep his voice level. On the inside, his heart was palpitating, but he tried to hide it all away for the moment.

Giovanni stepped forward, putting a protective arm over Molly’s shoulder and neatly tucking his unease behind a brave face. “We helped Luciana steal the money. We helped with making the counterfeit. We moved the cases when she stopped the truck.” He waved his hands frantically. “But before you get mad! Molly only did side quests, not anything directly illegal!”

“What does _that_ mean?” Ramsey asked.

“Well, uh…” Giovanni grinned nervously and rubbed the back of his neck.

“It’s hard to explain,” Fred began, “but we only let her be involved to a certain extent. So she was handing us scalpels, not performing surgery, ya know?” He grinned guiltily. “I mean, the morality of it all is very, very gray, but our conscience is clear.” He cast away the naivete from his freckled face, switching it with sincerity. “But I swear on my life that we weren’t irresponsible with Molly’s safety.”

Ramsey nodded slowly. He knew those kids well and despite all that happened, trusted them. That was good enough for him, but he wasn’t sure if that would cut it for Percy. Or for the police department. Cripes. “I’m just glad you’re alright. I’m gonna tell Percy that—”

“Wait!” Molly grabbed his arm before he could take his phone out of his pocket. “Just, can we—”

“You’re gonna make Percy wait to know that you’re safe?” He knelt on one knee to meet her eye-to-eye. “Kiddo, she was terrified and I was too. I’m scared that you’re getting in too deep.” Really, he was scared that she was becoming like him. Using crime to fill up some gaping hole in her life, to feel some sense of control over her sorrows, only to realize too late that it doesn’t work that way. It never did.

Her lip trembled and her eyes traveled across the wall behind him, quickly filling with tears. “I just don’t know if I could face her again. Right after she says she’ll adopt me, I do this to her. I really am awful.” She scrubbed the sleeve of her hoodie over her cheeks, her voice starting to crack. “And what’s worse is that I—I planned to hide it from her the whole time. I stabbed her in the back.”

Ramsey offered a small smile. “Hey, she’s a very forgiving person. I mean, take a look at my criminal record if you don’t believe me.”

Molly smiled infinitesimally, but it was obvious that her heart wasn’t really in it. “But that was before she knew you. This is different. I don’t deserve her forgiveness.”

Ramsey’s chest stung at hearing that. Boy did he know the feeling. “Look, if you don’t think you can face her again, then can you at least stay with me? So that I know you’re safe.”

At Molly’s nod, he gave her a hug. She held back tightly and he felt the tenseness in her body loosen.

Ramsey stood up, draining a sigh of relief. “I won’t talk to Percy right now, but I really don’t like keepin’ all these secrets from her. And that goes for you guys, too,” he said.

Giovanni and Fred stiffened.

“I don’t wanna be a snitch or anything, but Percy’s trust is more important to me than your… whatever the hell you’ve got going on,” Ramsey continued, folding his arms and taking note of the time. 1:54 a.m. “I’ll keep my mouth shut for twelve hours, so you better figure things out quick. But I’ll help you clean up the mess. Deal?” He held out a fist expectantly.

“But that’s, like, soon! We still have to sleep, so that takes up a lotta time!” Giovanni protested.

“Well, andiamo i miei bambini.”

Shooting unsure glances at each other, the boys mouthed silent questions. Finally, they each raised their fists to his. Giovanni fixed him with a steady stare and a devilish grin. “You’ve got a deal. Let’s get to work!”

“Cool.” Ramsey sat at the table, resting his cheek on the surface. Man, he was beat. “Can you explain more, though? I still have no idea what’s going on.”

“Yeah,” Fred said, taking a chair.

“Yeah, but can we steal some of your food first?” Giovanni asked, opening the fridge. “I’m starving.”

Ramsey sighed in exasperation. “Oh sure, go ahead and make yourself at home.” The sarcasm seemed to be lost on the kid.

“Why do you have four pounds of butter?”

“That’s _Percy’s_ butter,” Molly said, sticking her tongue between her teeth and flashing a cheeky look. Well, she sure lightened up fast.

How the heck did that little gremlin figure it out? Looking back, it probably wasn’t too difficult to put two and two together. “Oh yeah, don’t touch that. But you can have the mac’n’cheese.”

“Ooh, _Percy’s_ butter,” Giovanni repeated softly as he proceeded to touch the butter.

Fred cleared his throat. “A-anyway, on with business.” Thank goodness for Fred. He was probably going to provide the clearest explanation.

“Where do you want us to start?” Giovanni asked as he set the tupperware of mac in the microwave.

Molly gave the kid a teasing nudge as she fished a few forks out of a drawer. “The beginning seems like the obvious answer.”

Giovanni nudged back. “So I’m just hangin’ around, plotting, right? Keeping up with the news both above and below ground, right? So I catch wind that bank guy—what’s his name? Bert Haws?”

“Burtram Hobbs,” Fred corrected.

“Yeah!” Giovanni said, slapping Fred on the back. “It was on the news a few weeks ago. So this Hobbs guy is planning on buying and tearing down that DDA place downtown to put a new business there for one of his clients!” The kid clenched his fists in pure outrage.

But Ramsey was still confused. “Uh, what place?”

“It stands for Developmental Disorder Agency,” Fred explained. “They help people with autism and down’s syndrome, things like that. They haven’t been getting much government funding even though their clientele is steadily growing.”

“Yeah, it’s a real problem.” Molly pouted. “The waiting lists keep getting longer and the prices keep getting higher, but their funding is staying stagnant. It’s especially hard for adults to get into any programs right now.”

“So if this Hobbs guy buys them out, they can’t afford to stand a chance! He just wanted to buy the building because it was an easy target to make him more money! He doesn’t care about people!” Giovanni’s face was turning pink enough to match his hair. “People call _us_ bad guys, but he’s the real monster!” He angrily pulled the mac’n’cheese from the microwave, setting it on the table where all three boys began to voraciously attack it.

“Welcome to the bureaucracy,” Fred muttered, glumly resting his cheek on his fist.

Ramsey could understand the agitation. “Okay, but how does that tie in?”

Giovanni grinned mischievously. “We found out that Luciana was planning on stealing one million dollars from him, so we decided to hop on the train. We ended up making an agreement with her to help out in her little vengeance plot. She’s a real stinker, though. She’d only agree to a 50% cut, as in she gets fifty and I get fifty to split up again between eight boys.” He groaned. “ _And_ she was gone most of last week, leaving us to do the heavy lifting, so when I asked for a bigger cut, she shot me down immediately and threatened to go 60/40. What a _grump_!”

“We debated whether or not to tell Molly about the heist, but you know her. She found out anyway, so we let her help.” Fred had a fond smile.

Molly wriggled with excitement. “They let me help them at the print shop! I only went on days that Percy was at work, though. And then I helped out at night sometimes because we had to stamp on watermarks and stuff. One million adds up to a lot of work.”

“So that’s what you’ve been doin’. Making a name for yourself in the criminal underworld?” Ramsey said with a knowing smile, tapping her shoulder with his knuckles.

She reddened slightly, tugging at her sleeves. “Yeah… But it’s for a good cause, I promise!”

It didn’t take long for Ramsey to connect the dots. “‘Cause you’re donating your cut to keep the DDA afloat.”

In the pause, the boys shot roguish grins at one another. “You could say that,” Giovanni said.

That made a lot more sense. When Ramsey met up with them at the ice cream place, he was completely puzzled as to why they would just donate so much cash instead of keeping it. Of course, the lot of bleeding hearts wouldn’t just keep stolen money, they’d pour it right back into the hands of those in need. He liked that. A nice middle finger for ol’ Burty Hobbs.

“That’s why we needed your help the other day,” Fred said. “We were a little stumped as to how to do it without attracting attention.”

“Oh, so that’s when you got _the idea,_ ” Molly said, raising her eyebrows.

“Yeah, _the idea,_ ” Giovanni said, returning the look.

Although he got the general idea, Ramsey felt like he was still missing a few of the finer details. “The idea?”

Fred jokingly tapped the pads of his fingers together in a maniacal way. “Let’s just say that after our brainstorming session with you, we decided to simplify things a bit. Make the whole thing more straight forward, if you know what I mean. But that’s a story for another day.”

“Okay, fair enough.” Ramsey said with a shrug. “If that’s everything I need to know…” Honestly, he was dying to know what was up with all the secrecy, but he had a feeling that all would reveal itself in due time. By the next day, most likely. “What do you need to fix this mess?”

“Well, for us all the loose ends are pretty much tied now…” Giovanni muttered, hand on his chin. He kept going after a look from Ramsey. “Uh, well Luciana was gonna take her cut and get the hell outta Dodge, so she wanted us to help her pack up… It would be nice if we could get her caught before she leaves. Ya know, make it come full circle.”

Oh, so they were biting both of the hands that fed them. Fitting for the pair of crotchety assholes. “Funny. I know just the people for that,” Ramsey said.

Molly pressed her sleeves into her cheeks. “Oh great.” She’d have to face Percy again at some point, so it may as well be sooner rather than later.

“The thing is, how are you gonna avoid getting arrested alongside her?”

“We covered our tracks pretty well,” Fred said with a thumbs up. “We won’t be caught on any security cameras, except for that one traffic cam.”

“Yeah, I covered them all in soup except for the one!” Giovanni said. “Luciana didn’t notice that one, so we left it behind to help the cops pick up her trail. Don’t worry, our faces are covered, though.”

“As long as you keep quiet about the specifics, the cops will only find evidence pointing to Luciana. Not one other soul knows about our involvement. Oh, except for Percy and that ginger cop. That throws a bit of a wrench in our plans…” Fred said.

“But aren’t you still wanted for the Arsene Amulet?” Ramsey pointed out.

Giovanni nearly choked on his mac. “Oh yeah. I completely forgot about that. We’ll just do it _real_ careful, then.”

How a person could forget the reason why they’re wanted was beyond Ramsey.

“She told us that she’s got one more thing to do before she hightails it,” Fred said, “but she didn’t give us specifics. So we’ve got to figure out what she's doing before she does it. It could be our last chance to catch her before she’s gone for good.”

“I think that she’ll either be at the print shop or the bank,” Molly said, tugging at her hair. “They’re the only other places in town that she has a connection to. That we know of, at least.”

“Yeah, I say we check those out first,” Giovanni said pensively. “But man, it’ll be a long walk from here.”

“Ah, but I see car keys on the counter,” Fred said, nodding toward the object in question.

Oh no, Ramsey didn’t like where it was going. “Yeah, uh, Percy just let me take her cruiser home.”

Giovanni slid across the floor to his side. “Ramsey.”

“No.”

“ _Ramsey-chaaan._ ”

“Please no.”

“You leave me no choice.” In a split-second, Giovanni had his soul-slugger doom bat pointed right at him.

“Gio. Wha—what are you doing?” he asked, unsure if he should be intimidated or unphased.

“If you’re gonna help us, I think you'll do it best as our hostage. It’ll be easier to explain to Percy, dontcha think?” Giovanni winked, turning his attention to Molly. “You too, Bear Trap. Let’s go, hostages!”

Rolling his eyes, Ramsey stood up and followed the boys out, grabbing the car keys on the way. Sometimes, that kid was a really stupid genius.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little tidbit: I’m really passionate about services for adults with developmental disorders. During my first year of college, I wrote my final essay about specifically adult autism services. It’s a 12-page research essay discussing the availability of services, how adults with autism struggle with integrating in adult society, and ways to improve the system by establishing consistent terminology, creating a network of services, and better incentivising those who work in the industry. It’s a big problem for adults with ASD to access services in a system designed for children. In fact, nearly 40% of autistic adults in the United States lose all access to proper services in the first two years after high school (Anderson, C., & Butt, C. (2018). Young Adults on the Autism Spectrum: The Struggle for Appropriate Services). It’s even crazier for adults to get a diagnosis. It’s a long, confusing, and arduous process, taking an average of two entire years in the United Kingdom (Jones, L., Goddard, L., Hill, E., Henry, L., & Crane, L. (2014). Experiences of Receiving a Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Survey of Adults in the United Kingdom.) Not only that, but things aren’t looking up as the waiting lists get longer and the prices get higher. Here's to hoping that things get better.  
> So yeah, I’m done nerding out now. :3


	12. Chapter 12

“Are you doing alright?” Eros asked, giving her shoulder a squeeze. She still felt tender and her hair was damp. They stood in front of the police station, the lights behind them reflecting on the puddles clustered together in the parking lot.

Percy’s eyes were fixed on a singular point in the blackened distance. The rest of the world disappeared in the sparse rain and mists. “Yes. I’m alright now. I apologize.” The pressure built up in her chest. Perhaps if she hadn’t panicked, they wouldn’t have lost Morez. And Giovanni and Fred. And Molly. Her heart, however numb, ached for them. Feared for them.

“You don’t have to apologize.” Meryl spoke softly and offered a comforting smile. “We’ll just pick it up again, figure things out together.”

Percy wasn’t sure whether or not she nodded in response, only feeling complete despair that sloshed disgustingly in her stomach. “If I have another meltdown, don’t let me hinder your work again.” 

“Hey, I’m all for efficiency,” Eros said, looking at her over his sunglasses, “but it doesn’t work that way. None of my officers get left behind, or my name isn’t Sergeant Eros.”

Percy smiled almost imperceptibly, pulling herself into the same plane of existence as everyone else. “Your first name is Sergeant?”

“...Yes.”

Percy laughed gently, knowing that probably wasn’t the name on his birth certificate. She appreciated the way Eros could always cheer her up. “You’re right.”

“That my name is Sergeant? That was just a joke—”

“No, I meant the part about solving this case together.” She shook out her hands, trying on a real smile. Although it was a struggle, it felt more natural that time. “It’s about time we get back to work.”

“That’s the spirit!” Meryl said, pumping her fist in the air. “Who’s ready to rumble?”

Eros winked before pushing his shades back up his nose. “Yours truly!”

Percy straightened her tie and patted her hips to ensure the presence of her sword and cuffs. It wasn’t over yet. Molly was still out there. “As am I.”

“Then let’s do this. We’ve gotten nothing from our units around town, so we’ve currently got… nothing to go off of.” Meryl’s short-lived enthusiasm seemed to wear away slightly.

“Well crap. So much for doing this,” Eros said, leaning against the car in defeat.

“We may as well check the two places in town that Morez has a connection to,” Percy offered.

“The print shop and bank, huh?” Eros stroked his mustache pensively. “I mean, we’ve got the time.”

“Excellent.”

Eros slumped into the car. “We better fix this quick, ‘cause this woman’s steadily raising my blood pressure. Vamonos.”

Just before Percy opened the other door, a hand took her arm. It startled her at first, but she felt a pulse of warmth at the sight of Meryl’s reassuring smile. “Really, Perc’, it’ll be alright. We’ll figure this out together. I’ll be with you every step of the way.” The ginger let out a surprised “Oh” when Percy gave her a hug.

“Thanks, Meryl.”

Meryl laughed. “You always hug back when I hug you, but I think that’s the first time you’ve given  _ me  _ a hug.” They pulled apart. “That… makes me really happy.”

They smiled at each other before joining Eros in the cruiser.

***

“What’s wrong? Aren’t we leaving?” Giovanni asked from the passenger door.

Ramsey stood staring at the door of the cruiser, his blood pumping hard enough that he felt hot and cold at the same time. “Uh… Yeah, yeah…” It was so much easier to drive when he didn’t have  _ three kids _ in there with him. That way, if he drove off a cliff and exploded, he would be the only one that got hurt.

“Ramsey, are you okay? Is it the whole hostage thing?” Molly whispered, giving his sleeve a tug.

“Uh…” Oh yeah, he never really divulged his paralyzing fear of driving to the boys. Come to think of it, he wasn’t sure if Giovanni and Fred even knew about his anxiety disorder. He never explicitly stated it, at least. “I dunno, kid. Driving kinda freaks me out, and it doesn’t help that I’m half blind,” he whispered back.

Giovanni braced his arms on the roof, pulling himself up to flash a teasing grin. “Would you rather have Car Crash drive?”

“No no no no no, that’s fine,” Ramsey said shakily. The last thing he needed was to bust up Percy’s car.

Fred flushed slightly. “Hey! I’ll have you know that I haven’t gotten in a single accident over the past four months!”

“It’s okay.  _ I  _ believe in you and your steadily improving driving abilities,” Giovanni said, patting Fred on the shoulder.

“Thanks, boss.”

“Anyway, are we gonna kick some CRIMINAL ASS or what?”

Greater pressure slammed into Ramsey’s back and he forced himself to unlock the car and sit in the driver’s seat. It felt like sitting in the cockpit of a plane with an overwhelming control panel spread before him. With the boys staring at him, he couldn’t remember what he was supposed to do first. “Parking brake, parking brake… How do I do the parking brake again?” he muttered under his breath.

Giovanni’s enthusiasm faltered slightly. “Rams. It’s that thing with the ‘P’ on it. It stands for ‘Parking Brake.’”

“Okay, okay, I just… forgot… Wait, windshield wipers…” Geez, he figured it out an hour ago, so what was up with him now? But back then he had the time to flip through the owner’s manual in peace.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Molly asked from the back seat.

“Well, uh, this is just the third time that I’ve driven in, like, twelve years…”

The boys stared at him, eyes slightly widened in tepid fear. “You know what?” Giovanni said. “I think I’d feel safer with Car Crash driving after all.”

Molly peered at him. “Why dontcha ever drive?”

“Uh, uh, i-it’s not important, but I can drive. I think.” Ramsey took a deep breath and disengaged the parking brake, shifting into drive and inching out of his parking spot. Today was the day that he accidentally crashed into the side of a building, causing hundreds of thousands in property damage.  _ Calm down, dammit.  _ He couldn’t feel his limbs as he pulled into the near-empty streets, clipping the curb as he did so.

“You’re scarin’ me a little,” Fred tentatively said, “but we can help if you need. For instance, it would be a good idea to turn on your headlights.”

This was all a big mistake. “O-okay.” It was a mild comfort, at least, knowing that the boys wouldn’t let him do anything stupid.

“Ease up on the brake pedal a little at the end of a stop and it won’t be so jarring,” Giovanni added.

“Okay.” He tried it at the next stop and it worked. Huh.

“Wait, don’t merge yet, there’s a car in your blindspot. The car blindspot, not, like,  _ your  _ blindspot.”

“Thanks.” Ramsey felt a little lighter. In fact, he might have been getting the hang of it.

“Wait, stop for a sec and turn off your lights.”

“Okay?” Seemed like a counterproductive request. They were on a side street off Center Avenue and down an alleyway, they could just barely make out a white SUV in a tiny parking lot. Oh.

“It’s her!” Fred gasped.

Giovanni squinted. “She’s moving stuff.” In the dim lighting, they could barely see her hefting a large roll of paper from her car.

“She’s planning something, I know it,” Molly muttered. “I saw her hiding random crap, sneaking around. It’s all to get back at her ex, I just know it.”

“Woah, woah, wait. She stole the money just to get revenge on him?” Ramsey asked. Knowing her, that was probably motive enough. Crazy lady.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Fred replied. “Apparently she’s still pissed at him over the divorce.”

“ _ I’m  _ pissed off ‘cause that’s not what villainy is about!” Giovanni growled. “It’s about making a statement, not about offing someone who wronged you for personal gain! But hey, we used the situation to our advantage.”

Ramsey carefully watched her, noting that she was dumping off her counterfeiting supplies back in her print shop. “You have any idea what she’s planning? I’m a tad concerned ‘cause she’s givin’ off some not-good vibes.”

“It’s definitely not good,” Molly said. “She said that she went out of town for two reasons, and one of those reasons was to prepare for tonight. She wanted to keep it away from her house and store in case she got caught.”

“Did you guys ever figure out what the other reason was?” Fred asked curiously.

“Nah, she’s always so secretive. Oh shoot, duck!” Giovanni slipped under the dash as headlights swept over them.

Ramsey sank down in his seat, barely able to see Morez drive past. The lights cast sinister shadows before leaving them once again in darkness.

“We should follow her, but be real subtle. I almost forgot that we’re in a marked police car.” Giovanni got back in his seat, clicking his seat belt on. “And keep your headlights off.”

Ramsey hesitated, but started to drive with only the street lamps to show the way. “But isn’t that dangerous?”

“Better if she doesn’t see us.”

“O-okay.” Ah geez, they were gonna get t-boned at forty miles an hour. Ramsey slowly followed the SUV down Center, trying to remain about two casual car lengths behind her. There was barely any other traffic to provide adequate cover. In the span of a few minutes, Morez had already parked in front of Central Trust bank. Ramsey parked at the next building over to avoid suspicion.

“We need to work on your parking,” Fred said, giving Ramsey a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

Nodding, Ramsey stared off at Morez, who popped open her trunk and seemed to be working on something. “How are we gonna counteract her epithet?”

The car fell to a complete icy silence. The boys’ expressions slipped into concern. Fred finally raised a hand. “Excuse me. Her  _ what _ ?”

“Her… you guys don’t know?” Thank goodness, if they didn’t know, that meant she probably hadn’t used it on them.

“We thought she was a mundie,” Molly stammered. Her green eyes were slightly wider than they had been. “What’s her epithet?”

Ramsey thought back to Arietta and the pond. It sent shivers down his spine. “We don’t know her word, but she used it to… control us, I guess.”

“Can you elaborate?” Fred asked a little shakily.

“It was weird. I felt like I didn’t have control over myself, but I did what she wanted me to voluntarily. Almost like she was convincing me it was the right thing to do.” A hot wave of guilt crawled down his back and he hoped that they didn’t ask for any further details. “She used a lot of pet names and spoke really nicely. Super creepy, but it felt comforting at the time.”

“Rams, gimme your phone.” Giovanni held out a hand.

“Why?”

“I wanna look at a thesaurus but I don’t wanna use my data ‘cuz I’m low.” Rolling his eyes, Ramsey unlocked his phone and handed it to him. The kid began to type and scroll, mumbling to himself. “Convince? Persuade? Coax? What could it be?”

He could practically see the wheels in Molly’s head turning. “So she used her words to convince you to do stuff?”

“Yeah,” Ramsey replied.

“Hm. Maybe if we can’t hear her, then she won’t be able to control us.” The girl tugged at her sleeves, tongue held between her teeth.

“How we gonna do that?” Fred asked.

“I could use my epithet… but I don’t want to risk running out of stamina. Or if we somehow get separated…” Suddenly, she lit up. “What if we had noise-cancelling headphones? If we listen to music, then that would block her voice entirely!”

Fred’s attention was captured. “Music?”

“Yes?”

“What kind of music?”

“I dunno, any kind.”

“Can I choose the music?”

Molly giggled at his growing excitement. “Sure, Freddy.”

“This is my moment! My calling!” Before anyone could ask him to clarify, he whipped out his phone and pulled up a playlist. Holding it out for everyone to see, Fred revealed  _ The Ultimate Playlist: Home of the Absolute Bangers _ , a playlist containing a full 20 hours of classic rock. “I compiled it myself. And now I’m finally gonna get you guys to listen to my music!”

Ramsey scrolled through the songs in complete awe of the mastery before him. “Holy crap, this is  _ my  _ music too. I’m pretty sure that I made a few mixtapes in middle school with this stuff, and they were complete fire, I assure you.”

Fred bounced with pure joy. “You like classic rock too? These two just call my music old and boring!”

Sharing a fist bump, Ramsey grinned. “Their musical palate just ain’t as refined as ours.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to listen to my DEATH METAL?” Pink steam rolled out of Giovanni’s mouth.

“Ahem, before we get too excited,” Molly cut in, “where are we gonna get noise-cancelling headphones?”

Giovanni looked expectantly at Ramsey. “You got some cash on you?”

“I’m an online artist. I never have cash.”

“Car Crash?”

Fred shrugged. “I have three dollars on me.”

“Bear Trap?”

Molly also shrugged. “I’m twelve. I don’t got that kind of money.” Somehow, Ramsey doubted that.

Giovanni started to scroll through Ramsey’s contacts, of which there were only a handful, and started a phone call, flashing a roguish grin. “I think I know someone who does.”

***

Percy jumped as her phone began to buzz in her pocket. She certainly wasn’t expecting a call, and certainly not at two in the morning during an investigation. Eros looked at her questioningly from the driver’s seat. “Hello?” she asked.

“Greetings, officer!” It was Giovanni, sounding as lively as ever with the slightest edge of diablerie.

A complete wash of relief made Percy slump in her seat. He sounded like he wasn’t hurt or in danger. “Why are you using Ramsey’s phone? Uh—nevermind. Are you, Molly, and Fred alright?”

“Worry not for me and Car Crash, officer,” Giovanni said through a maniacal laugh. “Instead, you should worry about our UNWILLING HOSTAGES!”

She had to hold the phone away from her ear. “What?”

“Ramsey and Molly are our hostages. Fear me now! Grovel at my feet and BEG that I may show them mercy!”

“Nah, it’s fine, Percy. Kid’s just being dramatic,” Ramsey said dismissively.

“Wha—no! You are UNWILLING HOSTAGES! There is nothing fine about this!” She could imagine steam pouring from Giovanni’s ears.

“Anyway—” Molly. That was Molly! “—we were calling to ask if you could pick up noise-cancelling headphones for all of us.”

Percy blinked, taking a second to process what had been asked. Headphones? Why on earth? “But we are in the middle of an important investigation.”

“Trust us on this!” Fred interjected. “It’s Molly’s idea of protecting us from Luciana’s epithet!”

“Ooh, interesting,” Eros quietly drawled, changing the route to the nearest department store.

Meryl perked up in the back seat. “Hey, that sounds like it’ll actually work!”

“And also Freddy’s excited to share his weird music with all of us!” Molly added.

With a shudder, Percy remembered the absolute terror of seeing herself, her own body, and not being able to move, not even able to remember why she wanted to move. Trapped within herself, almost like a meltdown. “You can count on us. Where are you?”

“At the bank,” Giovanni answered. “Luciana is here too. She just broke the lock on the front doors and is hefting a big ol’ duffel bag inside. I wonder if she did anything to the alarm system because it’s not going off right now.”

“Roger that. We’re on our way. And Molly?”

There was a pause before the girl answered. “Yes?”

“I love you.”

Molly breathed a small laugh. Reassured. “I love you too.”

“I also love you, Ramsey. Goodbye.” Percy slipped her phone back in her pocket just as Eros parked in front of the nearly-deserted 24/7 store.

“Wait, what?” Percy didn’t realize that Eros was staring at her with a lopsided grin.

“What are you confused about?” Percy asked, very confused as to what the sergeant was confused about.

The man swept back his pink curls with an amused look. Percy wasn’t entirely sure what the look meant. “You said you love King Midas? I mean, I knew you two were friends, but—”

“Pff, Eros. You didn’t notice?” Meryl hid a grin behind her hand.

“Notice?”

“So oblivious. They’ve been dating. For a long while now.” The ginger gave Percy a little nudge.

She took that as a sign to elaborate. “Yes. And we are now engaged.”

“WHAT?” He burst out in raucous laughter. “I had no idea! Congrats, Perc’!” He was soon unable to continue, resorting to gasping between peals of laughter. Percy didn’t quite understand why it was so funny. Perhaps because of the unexpected nature? “When did this happen? Who proposed?”

Percy felt her cheeks heat up. “Um… 29 hours ago. And we sort of brought it up at the same time…”

Eros wiped away a tear. “Yeah, that sounds about right! Ah, that’s put me in a much-needed giddy mood. Anywho, on with business.” The man leapt out of the car, twirling spritely on his feet. “We’re gonna bag two criminals in one trip!” he said in a sing-song voice, prancing onward to the doors.

Oh, yeah. Percy had almost forgotten about the theft charge on Giovanni’s head. That could make things slightly complicated. Meryl shared in her anxious wince, although for different reasons. “Is it abnormal to buy headphones at 2:30 in the morning?” the ginger asked, nervously tapping the pads of her fingers together. “I feel like the employees will think we’re weird.”

Percy gave her a fist bump. “It’ll be alright. They literally work there for other people to make purchases.”

“But we’re also three uniformed cops. They’ll  _ stare _ ,” she squeaked.

“Just hide behind Eros the whole time.”

“Okay.”

As they hurried to the electronics section, Percy tried to keep Meryl’s attention on various things to avoid taking notice of the employees, who were definitely staring. “So… what’s our plan of attack?” she asked, pulling her friend along.

Eros glanced around, ensuring that there was no one in earshot, and spoke furtively. “As soon as we get there, we need to detain Potage and Morez on sight, whichever comes first. I want to resolve this as quickly as possible.”

An unsettling twinge tightened Percy’s stomach. Honestly, she liked Giovanni and respected his motives, although his execution was less than ideal. Was there an end to this investigation that resulted in Giovanni  _ not  _ going to prison? She wasn’t sure and wasn’t even sure if she could fight one way or the other. Of course, she wanted justice to be served, but since getting to know the kid, she didn’t think he really deserved such harsh punishment. But she had to fulfill her obligations to the police and definitely didn’t want a repeat of her little meeting with the sergeant from all those months ago. It didn’t seem like it would end as nicely.

However, in this particular situation, she wondered if an extra person would help… “Sir, I don’t mean to challenge your authority, but I recommend saving Giovanni’s arrest until afterward. Morez is the more important target at this time and since we don’t yet know her full capabilities, it may be beneficial to enlist the extra manpower.”

Eros pensively stroked his mustache, slowly circling some of the electronics displays. “True… I suppose he’s proven himself an ally in the past, hm?”

“Y-yeah, I mean Morez’s epithet is pretty freaky,” Meryl said. Her voice was soft and shaky and she nervously rubbed the back of her neck. She looked somewhat pallid. “Makes me wonder what all she’s capable of.”

“I agree.” Percy patted Meryl’s shoulder, unsure if it was awkward or comforting, but the ginger smiled anyway. “It’s best that we play it safe and use what we can.”

Eros held the earpiece of his sunglasses between his teeth, skimming over a few labels and packages. “Hm… hm… Alright. The Potage kid can help, but then we arrest him ASAP, savvy?”

Percy and Meryl shared a smile, though from Meryl’s end it came across as more of a polite grimace. They ended up locating seven sets of headphones that were of decent quality and an acceptable price, but it sure added up quickly.  _ Really  _ quickly.

“I… I can write this off as a business expense, right?” Eros stammered. The man had to struggle with himself to insert his card in the chip reader.

“I won’t blame you if you want to get reimbursed for that,” Percy said, unable to even look at the total. Meryl rocked back and forth on her feet, trying to avoid the cashier’s attention.

Eros had to use all his willpower to type in his pin number. “Hmm… Do I really have to get a pair for  _ everyone _ ?”

“It will certainly be ideal if those kids are going to help us,” Percy said. “And they’ll be one less weapon at Morez’s disposal.”

“True…” The three carried the purchase outside as if it were the holy grail itself. “This had better work,” Eros grumbled to himself.

“I’m sure it will!” Meryl said, much more chipper now that they were out of the store. “I mean, Molly came up with it! She’s a smart girl!”

A small wave of pride made Percy smile. She was proud of the girl, proud of her daughter, and incredibly grateful to hear that she was safe. It felt almost like life… could keep going. She could talk to Molly, resolve things, crack this case. Life wasn’t over yet. Whatever despair had been over her earlier, she wouldn’t let it win.

Percy ran her finger around the edge of the packaging, reading the information listed on the back. A guarantee for an annoyance-free listening experience. Excellent, just what they needed. Up ahead, she could see the bank in all its glory, lights dim except for one on the top floor. And at the neighboring building, a familiar-looking cruiser sat.

Eros backed into a spot a few spaces away, letting out a low whistle at seeing Percy’s car. “Now  _ that  _ is one awful park. Didn’t even pull up all the way.”

Ramsey, casually leaning against Percy’s cruiser, waved at their approach. “Meryl? I think I’ll take you up on those driving lessons,” he said with a grin. The rain left the top half of his sweatshirt dark and sopping wet.

“No kidding,” Meryl replied, giving him a punch on the shoulder. “I knew that you didn’t drive, but I didn’t know it was  _ this  _ bad!”

Percy ran up to him, catching him in a hug that pushed him into the car a little. “Hey, doll. Happy to see ya, too,” he said with a chuckle. “Doin’ alright?”

She gave him a squeeze, hoping some of the remaining bitterness in her mind would wash away. A good, albeit damp, hug certainly helped. “Y-yes. I apologize for leaving you behind earlier. I was in a disoriented state at the time and was unable to use my best judgement.”

“Nah, don’t be sorry. It turned out alright,” he said, patting her back. “Now I know that Molly and the other boys are okay.”

“Speaking of which, where are they?” Eros asked slowly. A quick survey of the parking lot revealed no boys.

Ramsey nodded toward the bank. “They already went ahead.” It was then that Percy noticed his hand was duct taped to the door of the car. “They kinda wanted to… get a jump start, ya know.”

“Ramsey, why is your hand duct taped to the door?” Percy asked, peeling it off. She hoped that it didn’t leave any remaining adhesive on the door, but it came off easily, what with the condensation gathered on the car.

Wincing, Ramsey laughed nervously. “Uh,  _ ow _ , uh, I’m their hostage, yeah? They wanted me to be the middleman to intercept the headphones so that they wouldn’t have to worry about runnin’ into any cops. So they hostaged me, I guess.” His hand was quite red from the tape.

“Care to elaborate?” Meryl asked.

“They didn’t wanna worry about… the law. Uh, not that they would need to be arrested or anything! They just… get nervous around authority figures?”

“You’re pulling this all outta your ass, aren’t you?”

He pretended to be offended, but Percy had a feeling that deep down, he knew it was the truth. “Me? Pullin’ stuff outta my ass?” He waved a dismissive hand. “Nah, nah, never. I swear on the good name of King Midas that this is gospel truth.” At a glare from Eros, he dropped the act a little.

“Can’t we just follow you in, arrest Morez, then take care of the kid?” Eros asked, unable to hide his exasperation.

“Well, uh, they insisted that it be this way and kinda threatened me with a bat, so…”

“Fine. We’ll play their little game. So you deliver their audio armor and then what?” Eros folded his arms. “You can tell us where they are once you catch up to them,  _ riiight _ ?”

“Ooh, so I’m a double agent,” Ramsey said, rubbing his hands together.

Meryl grinned and leaned forward. “Yeah, I bet you’d like that, you rat.”

He shrugged, exchanging a smirk. “What can I say? It’s in my nature.”

“But you’re on our side, yes?” Percy asked, rolling her eyes. “You’re  _ our  _ double agent?”

“Oh, but of course, Percy,” he said sweetly.

“Yeah, Midas. You’re  _ our  _ agent, right?” Eros said, taking a step forward. “You’re not gonna stab us in the back?”

Ramsey’s expression became slightly annoyed. “Yeah, yeah, get offa my back.” He took four sets of headphones and slunk away from the hulking man. “I’ll deliver these then shoot you a call, yeah? Then you can arrest to your little heart’s content.”

“Alright. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t fail us. I’ll remind you that we have  _ plenty  _ of sets of eraser cuffs, capisce?” Eros said through his teeth. He received a pout from Ramsey.

“Wait! Can you at least tell us what’s going on first?” Percy called.

Ramsey paused on his exodus to the bank’s entrance. “Uh, I’d like to, but I’m kinda sworn to secrecy right now. It’ll all make sense soon. I promise!” With that, he cautiously slipped through the doors and disappeared into the darkness of the front lobby.

“Yeah, I wonder how good his promises are,” Eros muttered.

Percy folded her arms, tapping her biceps with her fingers. “That’s my fiancé you’re insulting.”

“Ooh, so Perc’ fires up,” Eros said with a wry smile before he turned back toward the bank. “I’ll admit, it’s difficult to overcome old biases. I apologize. Anyway, what kind of music y’all listen to?”

As Meryl jumped into detailed descriptions of her beloved pop bands, Percy stared blankly at the bank. With every fiber of her being, she hoped that Molly would be alright. No matter how things turned out, she at least knew that she could trust Ramsey to protect her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Being me and being heckin’ autistic, one of my special interests is CLASSIC ROCK! So now, Imma force it all on you! Get ready for epic chases to the tune of _Welcome to the Jungle, Immigrant Song, Killer Queen,_ and much, much more!  
> Also, I bet that as a kid, Fred didn’t like his name very much because it’s kind of a basic name, but when he learned of Freddie Mercury, he started to like his name a lot more. It’s okay, Fred. We all love you.


	13. Chapter 13

Ramsey ducked through the bank’s glass door, trying to keep the headphones from slipping out of his arms. The packaging dug into his chest. The kids had scouted ahead to check if the lobby was all clear, avoiding arrest in the process. That, and Molly knew that if she saw Percy again, the cop would definitely prevent her from charging into such dangerous waters. He just hoped that they could make up, and do it sometime soon. It tore him apart to see them like this.

His shoes squeaked a little on the marble floors, making him jolt to a stop. All was dark except for the faint yellow glow of the emergency lights and the red blare of the exit signs above the doors. It turned the chairs, tables, and counters into dark shapes with the faintest indications of sickly yellow outlines.

“Hey.”

Ramsey jumped and dropped a set of headphones, but his pulse leveled out at seeing that Molly was the one who whispered. “Ack! You scared me!”

“Heh, sorry.” She picked up the set, reading over the package. “Ooh, nice. Gio and Freddy are behind the front counter over there. We haven’t seen any sign of anyone.”

“Okay,” he whispered back.

Her head bowed. “Um, are they…”

“Yeah, Percy’s doin’ alright. Eros is eager to arrest everyone, though, so watch out for him.”

“Thanks. I… hope Percy doesn’t hate me after this.”

Ramsey would have given the girl a pat on the shoulder, but he would have risked dropping all the cargo. “She just wants to see you safe after this. Are—are you alright?”

She laughed softly, avoiding a response. It seemed like the guilt was hitting her hard and he wasn’t quite sure of how to comfort her. There was no way he could promise anything. They would just have to see how things turned out, but if he could promise her one thing, it’s that he had her back. Ramsey couldn’t see her face to gage how she was feeling. He, for one, was kinda terrified, not just at the danger of the situation, but of the aftermath. How the hell was he supposed to help the two people he loved when they were head-to-head?

They walked around the counter to see Giovanni and Fred sitting on the floor. “Good, you made it with the supplies,” Fred whispered. He beckoned them to sit beside him, showing his phone screen. “Here’s the deal. I sent you guys a subsection of the playlist called _Party On, My Dudes,_ which contains louder music optimized for not hearing anything.”

“You’ve got subsections?” Molly asked, giggling. She jumped on the distraction immediately, quickly disguising her trembling voice. “How many?”

He shrugged. “There’s eleven. One for each occasion and mood. That might change, though. I haven’t combed through the playlist for a while.”

Molly laughed, giving him a teasing nudge.

“What?” he asked, looking confused.

“Oh, Fred. You’re just so _Freddy_!”

Evidently, Fred had no idea what that meant, but he smiled anyway.

Tapping his bat gently on the ground, Giovanni called everyone’s attention back. “So our plan of attack is to stealthily work our way up the floors until we find her,” he said. “Simple yet elegant.”

Somehow, that plan felt lacking due to its simplicity, but it’s not like Ramsey knew what else to do. “And then what?” he asked.

The kid spread his arms, steam rolling from his fingertips and a low laugh spilling from his mouth. “Then we duct tape her hands together, run away, and let you hand her off to the cops! She gets arrested and we don’t!”

Cripes, it was all one big mess of choosing sides. Normally he’d be fine with being some third party, doing stuff for different sides here and there, but this situation was anything but normal. He just hoped that he could throw something together to keep either side from getting mad at him. “Oh yeah, about that, they want me to help hunt you down,” Ramsey said, pulling out his phone. “I got them to wait a bit, so we better move fast if you’re planning on not getting caught.”

“Are you gonna help them hunt us down?” Fred asked unassuredly.

Ramsey shrugged, flashing them a lazy grin. “You’re my captors. Are you gonna _let_ me help them?”

“Gah, it’s all technicalities with you,” Giovanni muttered, snatching the phone from his hands and dialing up Percy. As soon as she answered, he didn’t even let her speak. “We saw right through your veil of deception! If you wanna catch us, you’ll have to find us yourselves!”

“You know you’re being annoying on purpose, right?” That sounded like a dour Eros.

“Screw off, copper! Or the gerbil man gets it!”

“Gets what?”

“Uh… I’ll tell him mean things to shatter his ever-fragile self esteem!” And with that, Giovanni hung up, looking pleased with how he handled the situation.

“Gee, thanks,” Ramsey said, voice absolutely seeping with sarcasm as he took his phone back.

Molly gently patted him on the shoulder. “It’s okay. Sometimes verbal weapons cut deeper than physical ones.”

“Pff, get off,” he snickered.

“Alright, headphones on,” Giovanni said. “My boys, we’ve got some villainy to do!”

Fred eagerly set his pair over his ears, his face glowing. “Ooh, starting off with some fire,” he whispered to himself. “Dang, what a good jam.” Giovanni followed suit. Although noticeably less enthused, he seemed to enjoy it well enough.

On either side of the lobby, stairs faded into the darkness and next to them, elevators sat waiting. Perfectly symmetrical. There seemed to be an additional stairwell behind the front counter, but it was closed off by doors. The boys, each with a bat in hand, quietly walked up the stairs on the left.

Molly bounded along behind them, her headphones compressing some of the insane volume of her curls. “Hey Molly, can ya hear me?” Ramsey asked, raising his voice. She didn’t respond or even seem to notice that he said anything. Good. Carefully, they crept up the stairs, their shoes making the faintest taps on the marble. The faint whirs of the air conditioning batted at his ears. Reaching the top revealed a floor full of shadowy offices. Though he could barely see, he scanned the surrounding area for anything that moved. The back of his neck prickled and he felt cold, straining his hearing for any sound. That, however, would not prove useful in the case that Morez was hiding somewhere, so he slipped his headphones on. Just as he did so, he could have sworn that he heard a door close. He yanked his headphones back off, his heart stopping, and tried to listen. Only the blood pounding in his ears was audible. Nothing. Maybe it was just the figment of a paranoid imagination, but he walked a little closer to Molly as he put his headphones back on.

— _The jig is up, the news is out. They’ve finally found me_ —

***

“Oh, of course. _Of course_! We walked right into that!” Eros clapped a frustrated hand over his forehead then ran it through his dampened hair.

Percy put her phone back in her pocket, casually hiding her smile. Honestly, she had expected something like that to happen. Counted on it, actually. Thankfully, she could trust the boys to look out for themselves. She just hoped that they could keep up the pace. It would be a shame to arrest them.

“Looks like we’re playing cops and robbers,” Meryl said.

“No kidding. When this is over, Imma take a _looong_ vacation—” He was cut off by his phone ringing. “Tch, _this_ call had better be a good one,” he grumbled, putting it on speaker. “This is Sergeant Eros.”

An officer spoke urgently from the other end. “Hello, Sergeant. We have just received a missing person report that you should know of.”

“Oh?”

Percy and Meryl shared a concerned look as the officer continued. “It’s for Mariana Taylor Hobbs.”

Eros shifted his weight, brow furrowed. “What’s the story?”

“Her description… Uh, blonde hair, blue eyes, 130 pounds, 5’4”. And boy will this be one tough nut to crack. Last week she went out of town with a friend, but she wasn’t reported missing until twenty minutes ago by her husband. She was supposed to be back yesterday, but the guy didn’t even bother to call her until this morning and only just reported her missing when he didn’t end up getting a response. Yeesh, dude couldn’t even tell us the friend’s name, so we’ve got almost nothing to go off of.”

A chunk of ice sank in Percy’s stomach and she became very conscious of the raindrops soaking into her clothes.

“Who’s the husband?” Eros asked slowly.

“Burtram Hobbs. Hey, isn’t that the same guy from that counterfeit case?”

“Yes… Where out of town did she go?”

“Arietta.”

The man had to hold the phone away to let out a stream of air between his teeth.

Percy and Meryl gaped at each other. It couldn’t be. Could it? It was too much of a coincidence. Panic electrocuted Percy in the chest. Molly, Ramsey, and the boys were in the same building as that woman. Dear Lord.

“Great. Just _great,_ ” Eros growled. “Make sure you get a copy of the report to Arietta and send the nearest unit our way to Central Trust. We might need some backup.”

“Uh, what do I tell them? What’s going on?”

“No time to explain, but we think we have our prime suspect. Tell them to radio me when they make it.”

“Y-yessir!”

Eros shoved the phone in his pocket, taking one of his guns and holding it at the ready. “Alright, ladies. Saddle up because this is a helluva lot more messy that we originally thought.”

Meryl’s face became grave. “How do you want us to handle this?”

“Morez’s arrest is top priority. We don’t exactly have definitive evidence that she’s the murderer, so don’t shoot to kill unless it becomes necessary.”

Percy could hardly breathe. She was shaky, unnerved. “How will we communicate with our headphones on?”

Eros started to stalk toward the bank, his boots splashing through puddles. “Gestures will just have to do. Don’t remove your headset unless we’re sure it’s completely safe to do so. We can’t risk her controlling us.”

Taking several deep breaths to calm herself down, she dashed alongside Meryl and slipped her headphones on. She only had a few songs on her phone, all of which she had carefully selected: _Rhapsody in Blue_ by Gershwin, _Mazurka in B Flat Minor_ by Chopin, _Concerto for Orchestra: IV Intermezzo Interrotto_ by Bartok, _Clair de Lune_ by Debussey, and _Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 23_ by Tchaikovsky.

She closed her eyes and imagined for a moment that the world didn’t exist. Inhale. She was alone in a velvety blackness, creamy ribbons of piano music her only companion. Exhale. And she was ready. In her veins, fire raged through her body. Justice would be served and if anyone hurt Molly… Well, they better be praying hard.

The trio crept through the front doors, and with hardly a communicative glance, knew what they had to do. Meryl and Percy each skirted around the perimeter in opposite directions while Eros slunk down the center of the lobby. Tendrils of darkness reached for her, tangling around her feet and swallowing up the furniture. It shrunk away at the dull yellow of the emergency lights. Percy had to quickly change her footing as she stepped around a small object that only just differentiated itself from the dark. It looked to be something of a beat-up box someone had left behind. The delicate chords of the piano were vastly out of place, making her mind and body seem to be existing in two separate realities at once. It confused her heart, which was stilled by the music but trembling with trepidation.

She joined Eros and Meryl in the other corner of the lobby, none of them having found anyone. Eros pointed to the stairs and continued his cat-like prowl. It would indeed have been unwise to take the elevator and risk the stealth of their mission. Just as she took the first step, Percy stiffened and whipped around. A square of light dove across the floor as the elevator slid open. She leapt back, sword at the ready, to see a shiny wingtip shoe step out. The tall stocky man that followed didn’t notice them at first, mumbling to himself and wringing his hands together with a briefcase tucked under his arm. Based on the look on his face, she could imagine what his surprised shriek sounded like.

Percy hastily sheathed her sword and slid her headphones off to sit around her neck. “Wait! Wait, sir!”

The man scrambled away, his shoes clicking on the floor and his briefcase landing with a heavy _thud._ “What the hell are you doing here?” he roared.

“We could ask the same!” Eros shouted back.

“Everybody calm down, okay?” Meryl said, holstering her guns and holding her hands out. “And for goodness’ sake, stop yelling!” As soon as they all fell silent, Meryl shrunk back behind Eros, suddenly startled for whatever reason.

The man’s chest heaved and Percy noticed that despite his nice dress, he was quite disheveled. A quarter of the buttons on his shirt were undone, his suit coat sat unevenly on his shoulders, and his bow tie hung untied under his collar. Snatching up his briefcase, he glowered. “I _will not_ calm down until I find out what armed police officers are doing in _my_ establishment!”

“Official police business, citizen,” Eros growled. “I suggest you explain yourself first.”

“Wha—Do you even have a warrant?” the man demanded.

“Trust me, our cause is incredibly probable.”

“Fine,” the man hissed, smoothing back his graying hair. His squared jaw and mustache emphasized his scowl. “I’m Burtram Hobbs, _Mr._ Hobbs to you, and I own the damn place. Is that good enough?”

Eros stepped forward menacingly, straightening to his full height. “Almost. What are you doing here so late? Or early, I suppose.”

“As a bank owner, I have a plethora of important work to do, unlike you, so I was catching up. My nerves have been wracked over my wife’s disappearance, so I stayed even later in the case that I would receive any updates from the police. Speaking of, shouldn’t you be searching for her instead of terrorizing my business?”

“Well, this is kinda related,” Eros said, “but we ask that you leave the premise immediately for your safety.”

“What?” Hobbs asked, taken aback. “What’s going on? I ought to know, shouldn’t I?”

Eros clicked his tongue, not afraid to show his annoyance. “We’re hunting down a suspect. That’s all I’ll tell you. Now please remove yourself.”

“Remove myself from my own building?” Hobbs gave a hearty laugh at the mere thought. “I was about to go home, but I can’t very well leave this situation unchecked!”

“Please, sir,” Percy begged, “you really could be in danger. We’ll handle it and report back to you once it’s resolved.” She hoped that Morez, wherever she was, wasn’t made aware of their presence with this whole fiasco.

Meryl nodded vigorously in agreement, face unnaturally pale and eyebrows knit in concern.

“I’ll only ask for your cooperation one more time before we remove you by force,” Eros said, voice low and serious.

“Wait! Will you just tell me one thing?” Hobbs asked, backing away from the sergeant and near the front counter. Percy could sense that he was about to do something unfavorable. “It’s Luciana, isn’t it?” When no one answered, he repeated it louder. “Isn’t it! I knew it! That _bitch_!” He laughed harshly, running a hand through his hair. “I should have known not to marry her! She was insane from the start! Now she’s out to get me…”

Eros took a few calculated steps closer to the man, driving him closer to the exit. Hobbs slid back, positioning the front counter between himself and the cop.

“Well, she _won’t_ get me,” Hobbs hissed. He thrust a hand under his coat, groping for something. Eros immediately shifted into a defensive position, backing away again. “Not if _I_ get her first!” Whipping out a pistol, Hobbs leapt over the counter, skirted around the cops, and skidded into the elevator, slamming at the buttons. Before any of them could catch up, the doors closed with a pleasant ding.

“Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me!” Eros groaned. “C’mon!” He jammed his headphones back on and dashed up the stairs. Following close behind, Percy gripped the hilt of her sword. Her body felt elastic and her arm pulsed with energy, ready for battle. As they continued their charge up the stairs, she caught a glance of Meryl rubbing her Canadian dollar.

***

Thus far, the offices brought up nothing of interest. All were dark, filled with various office supplies, furniture, and an abundance of plastic potted plants. If anything out of the ordinary happened, it was when Ramsey almost tripped over something left on the ground. It was some sort of box, but his mind was too preoccupied to bother taking notice of what it was. Leading the group, Giovanni peered through doors and slunk past furniture, gripping his doom bat menacingly before him. All that remained on that floor was one conference room that needed to be searched. It stood at the end of a wide hall, distinguished from the rest of the doors by its large size.

The heavy guitar blaring in his ears did not match what he was feeling at all. It was strangely off-putting to be listening to Led Zeppelin while they were on a manhunt.

Tentatively opening the door, Giovanni peered through. A long table took up the majority of the room, lined with rolling office chairs and so thoroughly polished that the reflection of the windows could clearly be seen on its surface. At the head of the table, one large chair commanded the attention of all in the room, thrown in stark contrast by the blank whiteboard behind it. Outside, they could see sparse traffic lumbering along at a sluggish pace, the bright lights giving the room more definition. As soon as Giovanni took a step in, a black figure shot up from the other end of the table, nearly losing her balance. Honestly, he hadn’t expected to find her so soon.

Fred jumped, looking to Giovanni for instruction. The kid nodded toward Morez and held his bat at the ready, streaking down the room toward her. After a moment’s hesitation, Fred followed suit down the other side of the table.

— _To fight the horde and sing and cry, Valhalla, I am coming!_ —

Morez threw up her arms defensively, her mouth moving rapidly. The boys didn’t even falter. Her jaw dropped to the floor. Giovanni shouted something and from her other side, Fred held his bat at the ready. In response, Morez kicked Fred’s hands and dove onto the table, her only means of escape. She slid across the lustrous surface, scrambling for traction, but her feet kept slipping out from under her. She cradled her duffle bag in the effort. Giovanni approached her, but was barely able to duck under the kick she aimed at his head.

Oh geez. Not quite sure what to do, Ramsey dug around in his pockets. Uh, hair elastic, phone. Crayons! Morez rolled off the left side of the table and hurled one of the chairs at Fred, making the kid stumble. He wasn’t quite sure of how best to help, so Ramsey just turned the whole box of crayons to gold and chucked it at the lady. It slammed into her shoulder then thudded to the floor. He was glad he couldn’t hear her wail. Having to catch her footing, she whipped around and reached for the crayons, but it was heavier than expected, so it slipped from her fingers. In the pause, Fred kicked the back of her knee and Giovanni slid across the table, landing in front of her. He shouted something again, but Ramsey didn’t know what it was. Morez’s face was twisted in concentration as she finally grabbed the box of crayons and slammed it on Giovanni’s foot. He stumbled back, hopping on his good leg.

The woman rolled away and dashed for the door, but unfortunately, that was where Ramsey and Molly were standing. Pushing Molly aside, he shoved one of the rolling chairs toward Morez, turning it to gold just before it left his fingertips. She skirted around it just in time, leaving it to crash into the wall.

In one last effort, Giovanni twisted to send a sphere of soup her way. It connected with the target in an explosive splash, but she quickly wiped the soup out of her eyes and continued her mad dash. It seemed that she finally realized they couldn’t hear her because she flipped them off just as she slammed the door. Ramsey jiggled the handle and gave it a good push, but the door was stuck. Well. Looking confused, Fred came to his side and helped him force it open. Evidently, Morez had jammed one of her slip-on shoes under the door and had already vanished.

Giovanni practically flew down the hall, limping slightly, and hit the first light switch he passed. Stealth was no longer a priority. The lights in the hall flashed on along with half of the ones in the waiting area that opened up, blinding Ramsey for a moment. He adjusted quickly, however, and spotted Morez dancing around armchairs and coffee tables.

— _Watch it bring you to your shun-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n knees, knees_ —

Giovanni leapt onto a coffee table, spraying home improvement magazines everywhere, and sent a few torpedoes of soup the woman’s way. She collapsed from the sheer force of it, coughing and sputtering. On her way down, she twisted to protect her duffel bag and arduously tried to keep it upright, banging her elbow on the dull green carpet. What could be in there? Fred ran up to her shouting something, only to have his feet swept out from under him by a kick. Shooting to her feet, she tried to run to a door that led to another stairwell.

However, she had to skid to a halt as Giovanni beat her to the punch. He kicked an armchair, which slammed against the doors, and gripped his bat tightly. Ramsey took the opportunity to run across the room and turn the armchair to gold, effectively blocking the exit. With Fred finally recovering and coming up behind her, they had her cornered. Wait, where did Molly go? Giovanni yelled, which appeared to be along the lines of “Surrender now or—” But Ramsey wasn’t very good at lip-reading. Before the kid could finish his threat, Morez grabbed the end of his bat and thrust it into his face. Giovanni reeled back, blood pouring from his nose. Shocked, Fred ran to his side, which Morez took as an opening to escape.

That left Ramsey as the closest person to her. Crap. What to do, what to do? He touched the ground and a river of gold engulfed the carpet, rushing toward her. The sudden change in texture caught her by surprise and made her stumble, but didn’t do much to deter her. Molly appeared beside him, making him jump. Her hoodie, which rarely came off, laid across her outstretched arms and sagged with random odds and ends of office supplies. She gave it a shake and set it on a nearby seat, making him realize that it was ammunition. Flashing a grin, he stuck his hands into the pile, turning the whole lot into gold. Molly immediately began to throw pieces of it at Morez, and she wasn’t a bad shot either. Staplers, hole punches, pens, rulers, pencil holders, a tiny framed picture of someone’s dog. Most of it either hit the woman or at least turned her path into a minefield. Unfortunately, before Fred or Giovanni could catch up, she had leapt into an elevator.

Giovanni slipped his headphones off and everyone did the same, sharing a collective sigh. “Augh, we’ll have to hunt her down again! Curses!” the kid growled, limping a little. He gripped his nose, making his voice slightly more nasally, and spit out some blood.

Fred rubbed the bruises blossoming over his fingers. “Man, she sure is athletic.”

“Since she’s gone, we may as well see what she was working on,” Molly said, walking back to the conference room. “She was setting something up in the back… What’s this?” Kneeling behind the head of the table, she pointed out a small object for all of them to see. It was nothing more than a small cardboard box with a large black X on the top.

“Uh, probably don’t touch it,” Ramsey said. His stomach was turning like some demented tilt-a-whirl.

“What could that be?” Fred muttered, crouching beside Molly. He looked the box over, his diagnosis resulting in a shrug. “Gio? What do you think?”

As expected, Ramsey’s warning went unheeded. Hefting the box in his hands, Giovanni scrutinized every ding and scratch on the surface. “Hard to say, but it’s all making sense now.”

Ramsey looked over the kid’s shoulder at the completely unassuming artifact. “Eh?”

“Well, when you’re cooped up in a print shop makin’ counterfeit for a few hours every day, you start to talk,” Giovanni said. “I casually mentioned that I was on my robotics team in high school and that I liked electronics and engineering and stuff, that I built my own computer once. After that, she started asking me all these hyper-specific questions about something she was building, but she wouldn’t tell me what it was. I wonder if this is it?” It took some working, but he carefully pried the folded flaps open to reveal a mess of wires, batteries, and various other materials that Ramsey couldn’t even identify. “What the—” Giovanni set it on the table and Molly stood by him as he prodded and gently took a few of the components apart, one sleeve held at his nose. Fred leaned over the table to see, watching intently.

“Please be careful,” Ramsey pleaded. “You’re kinda scarin’ me a bit.”

“Nah, it’s alright,” Giovanni said. “The sooner we figure out what this is, the sooner we thwart her plans.” Suddenly, he jerked his hand away and jolted backward, his eyes wide. “O-oh my God.”

Fred and Molly stepped back as well, waiting for an explanation.

Giovanni laughed nervously. “Uh, maybe you were right, Rams. Nobody touch that.”

“Why?” Molly asked, voice laced with fear.

Stepping back to the box, Giovanni pointed at a few of the pieces. “See this little piston? I’m assuming that she had a remote to activate it. So the piston pushes this little vial upward to tip it.” The vial in question was hardly bigger than a Christmas light. In the tip, a dark gray liquid sat. At the other end, there was a slight bottleneck and two wires that led from the inside of the vial to another piece of the contraption. “The gray stuff in there is mercury. When the vial is pushed up, the mercury drips to the other end. Now mercury is a good conductor of electricity, so when there’s enough to cover both of the tips of those wires, it completes a circuit.” He stepped back again. “And then it blows up.”

Ramsey felt like he was being strangled. That box… Earlier he had almost tripped over one of those.

Giovanni slowly pushed everyone out of the room. “I-it’s a rudimentary bomb.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This episode is brought to you by science BS-ing and second-hand crime show knowledge!  
> because im too scared to look up how bombs work


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok im sorry this is the last time i change the number of chapters i promise.  
> i totally know how to plan things, im like 82% sure this time

“What?” Molly squeaked. They were all standing in the hallway absolutely dumbfounded. Terror buzzed in the air around them. It suddenly felt a lot more real than any of them were bargaining for.

“I guess she wants to blow the place off the map,” Giovanni said shakily. He paced around in a small circle, as much as the hall would allow. “Uh, look, you guys stay out here. It’s an easy fix. I’ll just cut the wires and throw out the mercury switch, but if things somehow go horribly wrong, I’d feel better if you guys were far away.”

Ramsey almost couldn’t feel his extremities. “Wait, Giovanni—”

“No, it’s fine,” Giovanni said with a nervous laugh. “Really. It’s not like in the movies where you gotta figure out the right wire to cut. I’m just breaking off an electrical circuit and without the switch, it’ll be useless.”

His mind flashed through different ideas, hoping to find at least one other option. “What if I turned it to gold?” As Ramsey spoke, he knew it would be a long shot. His words wavered more than he intended. “The mercury would no longer be liquid, so the switch wouldn’t be functional. And—and that wouldn’t risk messin’ anything up and accidentally detonating it, right?” He was low on stamina anyway.

Giovanni shrugged with a melancholic smile. “C’mon. You know as well as I do that gold is a conductor. Seems more risky than just cutting it.” He stepped back into the conference room and started to shut the door. “It’ll probably only blow up if my hand slips.”

“Probably? Wait, Gio, that’s not—” Molly began frantically. Fred was stiff and pale.

“It’ll be fine. I give it a 0.001% chance of failing. Just stand back, will ya?” He shut the door and they heard soft footsteps.

“L-let’s do wh—what he says,” Ramsey said quietly, taking Molly’s and Fred’s arms and backing down the hallway. He could feel his innards icing over. Molly clung to his hand and Fred was breathing in tremulous gasps. Dear God. He shouldn’t have let Giovanni do that. That kid had better not die.

Seconds later, Giovanni manically burst back through the door. “Guys, I didn’t blow up! It was so awesome!” He was beside himself. “Holy crap I was scared for a second!”

“You were scared?” Fred’s voice steadily rose. “I thought you said it only had a miniscule chance of failing!”

“I did, but I still had that miniscule shred of doubt,” Giovanni said with a relieved laugh. “But good news: now I know that I knew what I was talking about! I just wanted to make sure I was right without endangering you guys.”

Fred clenched his hands as if he were on the verge of exploding. “Well DON’T DO THAT AGAIN!”

“I’m fine, Fred, really,” Giovanni said with an uneasy grin. “It was nothing.”

Molly sounded like she was on the verge of tears. “He’s right! Don’t do that again!” At the same time, she and Fred jumped on Giovanni in a violent hug. “We love you, dammit!”

“Aw, thanks you guys! But it’s okay, really!” Giovanni gave them both hearty pats on the back. “We’ve got a new objective, though,” he said, pulling away. “I’m not sure how powerful those bombs are, but they could certainly kill everyone in this building and possibly everyone else around here. It looks like she’s setting it up to make the place collapse. We need to find all the bombs and cut out the switches before she leaves, ‘cause I’m assuming that’s when she would activate it all.”

“Holy shit. This is really happening,” Ramsey said in disbelief. “So we gotta be careful not to tip them over, right?”

“Yeah. The switch is activated using gravity. Simple, but lethal. If we find her and she still has that duffel bag, we shouldn’t fight her.”

“We gotta act fast,” Fred said. “Let’s split up, gang.”

“Hm, I’ll bet the fuzz is in here by now,” Giovanni mused. “Car Crash and I will go up, you guys go down. Sound good?”

Ramsey bit his cheek. The thought of leaving Giovanni and Fred alone was terrifying. If they got hurt, they’d be too far out of reach to help. And if they got blown up or something… His stomach dropped. “Look, guys, I know you wanna cover more ground, but I dunno if I can just leave you.”

“I get that, but we _are_ both 19. We can handle ourselves,” Fred began.

“I’m well aware, it’s just that—”

“Wait, you hear that?” Molly asked. From the other side of the floor, heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs along with the clanking of a sword in its sheath. “That’s gotta be Percy! Look, I’ll go with them and we can deactivate the bombs on this floor and the ground floor. You guys go up.”

Shoot, Ramsey didn’t want to leave her either. How much blame would the cops put on her? He wanted to be with her to help explain at the least, but considering how quickly things escalated, they didn’t really have time for that. He just hoped Eros saw it the same way.

“Wait, Bear Trap—” Giovanni stammered.

But Molly had already dashed across the floor, turning back with a wave. “Just go!”

“If Eros sees you, he will not be happy,” Ramsey whispered. “We better go.”

“Oh, alright. We’re probably on her tail anyway.” Giovanni slipped his headphones back on, grabbed more scissors from the office supply pile, and led them up the nearest stairwell.

Just before she went out of sight, Ramsey could barely see Molly grab a few pairs of scissors and meet up with a surprised looking Percy. At least when it came to Molly’s protection, he trusted Percy more than himself.

— _Well versed in etiquette, extraordinarily nice. She’s a killer queen_ —

***

A small figure streaking toward them in the partial darkness made them come to a stop. It was too small to be Morez or Hobbs or really anyone else besides Molly. Her heart quivered at the sight. Scanning the surrounding area first, Percy yanked off her headphones and rushed to the girl.

“Molly! Is that you? Are you alright? What’s happening on your end?” She realized that the barrage of questions might have been a bit much. Really, she was just so relieved to see Molly again, that she was within arm’s reach. She nearly slid across the floor and collided with the girl in her effort to pull her into a hug. Across the room, she could see a mess of furniture and office supplies, some turned to gold. A large swath of carpet was gilded as well.

“I-I’m sorry, but there’s no time to explain!” The girl quickly pulled away, making Percy’s heart sink a little. “Have you seen any boxes? Probably with a black X on the top?”

“Er, yes… It was too dark to see if there was an X, but I did find a small box.”

Eros was bouncing on his feet, ready to blaze forward. “Sorry little deputy, but we’re kinda trying to—”

“They’re bombs!”

They froze. Percy’s stomach tensed up. What? It was quiet enough to hear the air conditioning and something else… possibly distant footsteps. Eros took off his sunglasses to stare at the girl and the remaining color drained from Meryl’s already pale face.

“They’re bombs,” Molly continued, her voice betraying the urgency of the situation. “They, uh, what did Giovanni say? They got mercury in them, so when you tip them, it makes an electric circle or something!” She tugged anxiously at her hair. “Uh, sorry for the bad explanation! Basically, we gotta cut the wires and get rid of the little glass thing to disarm them! And DO NOT tip them or they’ll explode!”

“That sounds like a mercury switch,” Meryl said quietly. “So Morez is setting those up around the building?”

“Yeah! We gotta hurry and check the first and second floors! The others are going upstairs!”

“Good grief, I’m about ready to retire,” Eros grumbled.

Molly thrust a pair of scissors at each of them before dashing down the stairs. “C’mon!”

“Right behind you, deputy!” Meryl called back.

Having found a panel of lightswitches, Molly flipped each one, making one sector of the lobby light up at a time. Both Eros and Meryl quickly located the cardboard boxes set up around the perimeter of the building, carefully prying them open and cutting out the switches.

The apprehension of being in the same building with devices that could violently take life in seconds… it rose like a thick steam in the room, clouding in Percy’s throat. She bolted to the other side of the room, finding the specific bomb she almost tripped over. Thank God she hadn’t. Popping it open, she noticed the abundance of duct tape. It appeared that Morez wasn’t quite sure of the most elegant way to construct it, but it would work well enough. Most of it was finagled together with parts easily accessible at hardware stores and weren’t specifically created for bomb-making, which explained why it had the appearance of a DIY project. After cutting out the switch, Percy gave the wall above the box a solid knock. It produced a dull _thunk_ whereas the portion of wall a foot away had a hollow sound. So Morez had positioned the bombs in such a way that they would take out the posts and supports in the walls, effectively making the building collapse.

“Molly!” Percy called. The girl was halfway down the adjacent wall, gently working a box open.

“I know what you’re about to say!” Molly called back. A defiant stare narrowed her eyes. “I’m not leaving. I’m helping!”

Percy’s breath was catching in her throat like a barbed fish hook. “Seriously, Molly! This is too dangerous!” There was so much to talk about, but no time to do it. What was going on? Did this mean that Molly didn’t like her anymore or did Percy just not understand everything yet? All so discombobulating.

“The faster we get this done, the better chance _everyone_ has of getting outta here alive!” she shouted, moving to the next bomb. “And if one of these goes off, my epithet could save somebody! You need me!”

If something happened to Molly before they had a chance to make up… The thought made her sick. “I need you to be safe and alive!” Bile rose in her stomach in a panicked wave.

Molly didn’t respond, only moving faster and more resolutely.

“You don’t understand,” Percy tried again. “We have two potential murderers in the building! Morez killed Hobbs’ current wife and now he wants to kill her!”

Molly faltered slightly with a gasp. “Really? So that’s what she went out of town for!”

“What?”

“I’ll have to explain later! Honestly, though, that doesn’t surprise me. I knew the risks, so just please let me help! I don’t want you to die either!”

The words hit Percy like a punch to the gut. In her frenzy to protect Molly, she had forgotten how much the girl was like her. Wanting to care for her friends even at the cost of personal sacrifice. She certainly wasn’t naive; her desire was just as mature as Percy’s own. She took a deep breath. It was perhaps one of the most difficult things she had done, and she had been through a lot, but Percy decided to let it go. She released a stream of air. With it left the steel fist clenching her heart.

“Alright, Molly! Just stay behind me, okay?”

The girl’s face lit up and the stars in her hair seemed to shine brighter. “Roger that!”

***

On the next floor, the lights were already on, revealing a jungle of cubicles. Ramsey chanced taking his headphones off for just a moment, trying desperately to listen for anyone. All was quiet for a moment until heavy footsteps pounded on the far side of the floor and then… swifter, lighter footsteps from the opposite side? The heck? He couldn’t see who it was through the maze.

Fred and Giovanni were already dashing along the walls, opening the handful of boxes lined up and cutting out the switches.

A low voice that sounded like a bear of a man startled Ramsey. “There you are!” Who the hell was that?

A shocked shriek that sounded like Morez pierced the air. “You’re still here?”

“Where’s my wife?” the deeper voice demanded lethally.

Morez cackled a reply. “Oh, that pretty little trophy?”

“Wait! Get back here!” The sound of a gun being cocked echoed across the room. “I’ll show you!”

The lighter footsteps began to snake around the cubicles, getting too close for comfort. “Ha! No you won’t!”

Ramsey frantically waved at Giovanni and Fred. They hadn’t noticed what company they were in. After a moment, Fred glanced up, eyebrows knit together. Ramsey held a finger up to his lips and gave his headphones a shake, hoping that would be enough to get the message across. Unsure, Fred slipped his headphones off, stiffening at the sound of the commotion.

“I… I won’t? Gah, don’t use your epithet on me, woman!” the man hissed.

Fred padded across to Ramsey, keeping his head low. Completely oblivious, Giovanni walked around the corner and disappeared behind more cubicles. Dammit.

“You never had any troubles with manipulating _me_ in the past!” The footsteps seemed to recede for the time being. Crap, but that was toward Giovanni.

The man sounded infuriated. “That’s rich coming from you!”

“What? You think lying about one night out counts as manipulation? Ha!”

Ramsey and Fred crept past the first row of cubicles and peered around. Giovanni was crouched by the wall, cutting out a switch. Just within the first aisle, a tall man stalked. He was sharply dressed, but something about him seemed unhinged. His hands firmly gripped a gun. Fumbling, Ramsey grabbed a pencil from the nearest desk, but his hands were shaking too much, so Fred took it and tossed it. The pencil bounced across the floor, rolling to bump the kid’s boot. Giovanni whipped around with a look of confusion, but dove behind a desk just in time as the man looked down the strip of floor for his target. Electricity sparked around Ramsey’s heart.

Frowning, the man turned back to look down another aisle. “No, but I’m pretty sure threatening to blackmail me every other day counts.”

“You just don’t want the authorities to find out about your past!” Luciana’s voice was becoming distant. “You ruined my life!”

“You think I _ruined_ your life? You wouldn’t be where you are without me!”

“I’d be competing in the Olympics if it weren’t for you, you bastard! I bet I could’ve at least gotten a bronze in the sprints and maybe the long jumps!”

“Switching over to a business degree was always more practical!” the man retorted.

The voices were getting farther, so Ramsey tapped Fred’s shoulder to get his attention. Together, they crawled to join Giovanni, who looked hardly phased. The kid had some gumption. He slipped off his headphones when he saw them and pointed toward the last wall that hadn’t been de-bombed, flashing a sly grin. Ramsey wasn’t sure if Giovanni quite understood their situation yet.

“You just wanted to use me so that I’d always be there to cover for you! Well now, I’m going to destroy everything that you loved more than me!” Her tone was becoming more harsh.

“Not if I get you first! No way am I losing everything I’ve worked for!”

Morez’s voice immediately became more saccharine, dripping with honey. “Are you sure about that, sweetie? We can’t have you working yourself _too_ hard. Isn’t it about time you get some rest?”

The man laughed as if he had gravel in his throat. “You’re going to have to use more stamina than that! I’ve _really_ got my heart set on this.”

Nodding toward the source of the man’s voice, Ramsey made a finger gun. Giovanni’s face became more grave, but he pressed forward, undeterred. Though Fred looked terrified, he matched his boss’s determination and followed close behind. He had to force himself, but Ramsey did the same. There were only a few more boxes, which they quickly disarmed. It was eerily quiet.

“Ah, there you are.” A gunshot covered up the man’s triumphant laugh.

A bullet hole appeared in the wall above them. Ramsey shoved the boys under a desk, turning the cubicle to gold as he went. Oh boy, that made him dizzy. He could feel his lowered stamina like a desperate thirst. They stared at each other, hardly daring to breathe.

“You’ve always been a garbage shot,” Morez cooed. “I don’t think it would be a good idea to shoot me, honey. If I fall, this duffel bag just might blast all your hard work to pieces.”

The intimidation left the man’s voice, replaced by befuddlement. “O-oh. Well—well I suppose you’re right…”

“That’s it. Just set that gun—”

“Wait, but I wanted to shoot you? Didn’t I?”

A hiss of annoyance was Morez’s only reply.

“Yes, I think I did. How about this? Set the bag down and I’ll hold off on shooting you.” How did the man learn to work around Morez’s epithet so well?

He must have had her cornered because she growled in defeat. “Fine.” The bag landed with a gentle _wumph._ “Now what?”

“I lied.” Another shot shattered the air, this time hitting the gold cubicle with a distinct _pnng._ “Get back here! Wait, what was that?”

Luciana skidded around the corner, face twisting in shock at seeing them. “You guys again?”

“Who? There’s more people here?” the man bellowed, coming up behind her. “How aggravating!” Clamping a large hand over Morez’s mouth, he gestured with his gun for them to stand.

Giovanni was the first to crawl out from under the desk, raising his hands in the air with a defiant look on his face. Hardly able to move, Ramsey stood beside him. Fred was ghostly pale, but he joined them as well. _Just calm down_ , Ramsey kept repeating to himself, but he felt like a distant spectator to the events about to unfold. It felt like they were crammed together in this narrow walkway in front of a firing squad. Were they going to die where they stood? Ramsey struggled to breathe evenly. _Don’t show fear._

The man glared at them. “Explain. Now.”

“We—we’re, uh, with the—the police, um, catchin’ her,” Ramsey stammered. Not exactly the truth, but not too far off.

With a stare that could melt steel, Morez had a look that said, _You’re not getting off that easy._ She jerked her head back to free her mouth. “They’re my accomplic—mmph!”

“So you guys helped her steal my money, hm?” Ramsey then realized that the man was probably Burtram Hobbs himself.

“ _I_ did,” Giovanni said, stepping forward. “These two aren’t involved.” Fred’s mouth dropped open and he stared at the kid with glassy eyes.

The lines in Hobbs’ face deepened, his lips tightening. “Tell me, then. Where’s my money, eh? If you tell me now, I’ll hand you off to the police unharmed.”

“You want me to tell you? I’ll tell you, alright,” Giovanni said with a maniacal laugh. “For the low, low price of our safety, I’ll tell you. Deal?”

“Deal.”

Giovanni’s grin grew wider, pink steam rolling from between his teeth. “You wanna know where it is?” He laughed harder, giving each syllable grandiose emphasis. “999,999 dollars and 99 cents are now being utilized by the Developmental Disorder Agency! 5% goes to fundraising, 10% goes to staff, 10% goes to building maintenance, 20% goes to program management, and the rest goes to individuals and families. Donated with love by Mr. and Mrs. Hobbs!” The couple were stunned to silence. “Luciana, I wasn’t lying when I said I wouldn’t go behind your back and steal _all_ the money. Here you go.” He flipped a single penny, which landed pathetically at her feet.

Ramsey couldn’t believe his ears and couldn’t hold back an awed grin either.

Hobb’s grip had loosened on Luciana. “Wha—wha—what’s all the money in my car then?” she gasped.

“The boys and I pulled some overtime while you were gone,” Giovanni replied. “Glad we had the foresight because we weren’t too sure how we were gonna pull it all together in the end, but we got a little help and figured out how to use it all.”

“Then… it’s gone?” The words flopped from Hobbs’ mouth.

“You might have been able to report it stolen if a bunch of teenagers handed it over, but it’s officially in their records as a donation by you, the source. You’ll never see it again.” Striking a confident pose, he delivered his final message. “Never forget the time you were bested by the grand villain GIOVANNI POTAGE!”

“Not The Potage Barrage?” Ramsey snickered.

“Nah. Names are pretty cool,” he said with a grin and shrug.

The second that Hobbs and Morez snapped out of their shocked trance, a lot of things happened at once. Morez bit her captor’s hand and slipped away. At nearly the same time, Fred launched his bat at the man and Giovanni let loose a hurricane of soup. Hobbs shielded his face and stumbled back, raising his gun. Without really thinking about it, Ramsey turned and stepped to the side.

_BANG!_

Acting quickly, Fred snatched his boss’s bat and ran to Hobbs while the man was still wiping soup from his face. Giving it a powerful swing, Fred knocked the gun out of Hobbs’ hand, sending it clattering across the floor. Fred cracked the man across the face and Hobbs stumbled back, holding his now crooked and bloodied nose before picking up the gun and running away after Morez.


	15. Chapter 15

Sweat pricked on the back of Percy’s neck as she worked her scissors through the wires. She pulled a muscle as she whipped around to check on Molly. Still okay. Perhaps this whole thing was a very big mistake, but with her help, the process took only a matter of minutes. And time was of the essence.

On her other side a few feet away, Meryl carefully worked a box open, pausing to brush her ginger hair behind her ear and revealing how chalky she looked. Of course, Percy had always known that Meryl was anxious, but usually she was more composed, even in such dire situations. Meryl noticed the momentary gaze and her lips tightened. “He—he seems familiar, don’t you think?”

Percy wasn’t sure how to answer, casting another glance at Molly.

“Hobbs, I mean,” Meryl quickly added, setting aside a mercury switch. “I’ve never looked him full-on in the face before until tonight. But I know he always wears wingtips.”

Before Percy could ask her to elaborate, Eros called, “Is that all of them?” He stood on top of a coffee table, scrutinizing the second floor.

“Looks like it!” Meryl called back. The bombs lined up around the walls and hidden in the offices now sat useless. The first and second floors were clear.

“Let’s head to the top since the others are taking care of the third floor,” Molly said, dashing to the elevator. Before she could make it, Percy grabbed her shoulder. The girl made a pout to rival all others.

“Hold on, Molly. We appreciate your help, but it really is time for you to stay back.” Percy was lenient, but only to an extent. Molly angrily shrugged out of her grip.

“She’s right, little deputy,” Eros said as he strode away. “Can’t let you go any further. You ought to listen to your mom.”

Molly folded her arms tightly, burning the floor with a dark glare. “I’m not dumb,” she grumbled. “I can handle myself.”

“I didn’t call you dumb,” Percy said, “but you _are_ still a child. I hope you understand that this is my responsibility to you.”

“Yeah? Well what about my responsibility to _you_? And to my friends?” she shouted.

The rise in volume startled Percy. She’d never heard the girl raise her voice so loudly before.

Molly threw her arms out in frustration and stepped farther away, but couldn’t hide the hurt in her eyes. “I finally get to make a difference, but everyone’s stopping me right when it matters! I’m sick of people seeing me as some dumb kid!”

Meryl slowly approached. “Molly—”

“We don’t really have time for this,” Eros growled.

“You’re right. We don’t,” Molly said, backing away from everyone. “I didn’t wanna have to do this. I’m sorry. I really am.” She flashed a roguish grin.

Before Percy could do anything, she felt her intelligence drop. To that of a rock. She idly wondered what kind of food she had in the fridge at home, but was too lazy to remember any specifics. And like that, it passed. Where’d Molly go? _Oh SHIIIIIIIIIIT._ That child. Was going to be the death of her. She certainly had moxy. Percy admired her for it, except for the fact that she was a _child_ going to face two murderers alone. Was she planning to slip away all along?

“All this stress is gonna give me heart disease!” Eros whined.

Percy clapped her hands over her face. “That’s it. I forfeit all parenting rights. I’m _abhorrent._ ”

“Quit moping and kick your asses into gear!” Meryl called, running to the elevator. “We’ve got work to do!”

When they all stepped in, Eros slammed the button. “Floor four and there’s four independent parties that’s making this four times worse than it needs to be. That’s gotta be a good omen.” Percy wasn’t sure why that would be, but she appreciated Eros’ idiosyncratic ways of pumping everyone up.

“We’ll find Molly and it’ll all be a-okay and nobody gets hurt,” Meryl said quietly, staring stiffly at the elevator doors, rocking slightly, and offering a smile that was more stilted than comforting.

Regret struck Percy in the back like a tank. “I shouldn’t have let her help.” She just wanted to let Molly help save her friends, use her epithet if needed, but maybe it was too much. She sometimes forgot that she was only twelve. She always came across as much more mature.

“You give ‘em an inch, they take a mile,” Eros said with a shrug. “Darn kids.”

The crackle of his radio made everyone jump. “Unit 286 reporting. We’ve made it to the scene. Over.”

Eros snatched it up immediately. “We have an active bomb threat. They’re cardboard boxes with mercury switches. We want Morez for grand theft, forgery, breaking and entering, and suspicion of murder. We want Hobbs for assault, but hopefully it doesn’t turn into battery. He’s got a firearm. We also want Potage for theft. Savvy?”

“Yessir.”

“The first three floors should be clear. We’re on the fourth and unsure of our targets’ locations. Capture the targets and nullify the threat.”

“Roger that.”

The elevator doors slid open, revealing a floor of computers and dusty shelves overflowing with color-coded files. There were a few printers lined up on one wall and in the back was a large, posh office with a shiny plaque labeling it as Hobbs’. The group softly wandered across the floor, naturally spreading out. Frantically scanning the room, Percy searched for any sign of Molly. She walked as if over a frozen lake. Icy spiders crawled down her back. Nothing. No Molly, no targets, no Ramsey, no boys, not even bombs. Her mind wildy tore through the possibilities. What if they were all dead? She shook her head, trying to focus.

A soft sound caught her attention and Percy slid behind a bookshelf, peering around the corner for the source. Molly used a chair as a watchtower, squinting at the surrounding area, likely searching for the absent bombs. Of course, her headphones were on.

Percy waved furiously.

The girl didn’t take notice.

Taking out her sword, Percy angled the blade against the light and reflected it toward Molly until she finally looked. The girl stiffened and scrambled away, nearly knocking the chair over in the process. Checking that the coast was clear, Percy darted after her. She could practically feel her aorta decreasing in circumference. “Come back!” she whispered as loud as she dared. As Molly skidded around a corner, Percy took the opportunity to leap and dive into her, encapsulating her in a bear hug. Ha, random shows of affection.

Molly squirmed and thrashed and shook off her headphones, but to no avail. “Lemme go!” she squealed. However, she immediately fell still and quiet as a crash from across the room echoed through the dense forestry of files.

Percy scooched behind a shelf and held the girl closer, both trying to silently catch their breath. She located Meryl in a similar crouched position a few yards away, rocking slightly and holding a gun at the ready. Eros wasn’t to be seen, hopefully meaning he had done the same.

On the other side of the floor, the doors to the stairwell burst open, a frantic-looking Morez dashing through. She slammed the doors shut, but it didn’t do much to deter Hobbs. His nose appeared to be broken, an indication of some sort of fight. Oh no. She considered putting her headphones back on as a safeguard, but she simply couldn’t after hearing the first string of their conversation.

“Why do you do this to me?” Hobbs bellowed. His voice was nasally and he spluttered slightly due to the blood pouring over his mouth. “Now I have to pay for surgery to fix my face!”

“What is it, a couple thousand dollars at the most? That’ll be nothing for you!” Morez held her duffel bag carefully to her chest as she dodged around desks. “You know how expensive it was for me to post bail? _And_ to cover your defense attorneys? And you only paid _part_ of it back to me!”

“I had to focus on building the business!”

“You made me pay to legally change your name too! You did it on purpose, didn’t you?” Her voice rose to an uncontrollable scream. “You purposefully made me waste all my savings on you so that I couldn’t escape, so you could always use me!”

“It was always for _us_! I built this business from the ground up so we could live a comfortable life!”

“You built it on crime! Stealing from museums and rich people and wherever else… I can’t believe you dragged me along with you!”

Meryl stiffened, her rocking coming to a halt, and peered around a desk with wide eyes. She no longer looked so pale, sudden hostility sharpening her expression. The gun shook in her hands.

“Pff, you were only ever the getaway driver!” he scoffed.

“Shut up, Jasper!” Morez retorted.

Infuriated, Hobbs fired a warning shot into the ceiling. “That’s not my name! I told you not to call me that!”

Molly sank into the depths of her hoodie, squeezing her eyes shut. Percy crept out from behind the bookshelf and held her sword tightly to keep it from clanking in its sheath. “Stay put,” she said under her breath. Molly nodded rigidly.

From a few feet away, Meryl crept forward a few paces, biting her lip. Her knuckles were white on the gun.

“Jasper Maddox!” Morez shouted. “That’s still the name on our marriage certificate!”

Did that name seem familiar?

Immediately, Meryl shot up from her crouched position. _BANG!_ Only a split second later, her gun was smoking and she was breathing heavily. From across the room, the man, whatever his name was, screamed. Morez turned around, tongue held between her teeth, and whipped a bomb from her bag. Without even looking to see who fired, she tossed it across the room to the source of the bullet.

Percy was paralyzed, mouth dry. Her only movement was her eyes following the trajectory of the box as it sailed through the air, tipped end over end, and finally— The explosion was completely muted. The bits and pieces erupted only to slam against the inside of a green bubble. The hardware clattered to the floor and ash sprinkled down as the sphere dissipated. Morez gaped at the end result of her creation.

“You’re welcome!” Molly called, winking around the corner of the shelf. Thank God for that miracle child.

She shook out her limbs, finally able to move again when the terror washed away. As Percy rose, she brought with her a wizard tower, although the carpet was a terrible foundation to construct one upon. Before lightning arced through the room, she spotted the man with a hand over his left ear, which had been blown cleanly off. He shrieked as electricity crackled around his body, making the lights flicker, but the bolts were too weak to do any real damage. Damn, she needed better material to build on. Not to mention she couldn’t even try hitting Morez or her whole bag would explode.

Eros ran over, dragging a flustered hand through his hair. “You missed,” he said to Meryl, simply astounded rather than accusatory.

Her face was straight and very serious as she jammed her headphones back on. “I never miss.”

Percy and Eros slipped their headphones back on as well.

When Hobbs recovered, which happened too quickly for Percy’s liking, he pointed at Meryl in shock, shouting something that looked like “You?” Meryl only stepped closer and shot the gun out of his hand in response. He couldn’t run fast enough to avoid being tackled by the ginger. He punched her in the face, then instantly fell back to cradle his fist. Meryl hardly stumbled, slamming the butt of her gun into the man’s face. Eros, being an excellent fist fighter, rushed to her aid.

Percy whipped around, looking desperately for Morez, but the woman was nowhere to be seen. What she did see, however, was the swish of a green skirt as it disappeared into a hallway. Percy’s feet pounded the floor as she flew across the room, jumping over a desk and sliding into the hallway. Nothing could stop her momentum as she rushed up the stairs that led to the roof. She felt nothing but an insistent static in her limbs and the drops of rain on her face.

It was difficult to see, the only visibility being provided by the lights of the city reflecting off the pillowy clouds above. Puddles spread across the roof caught a portion of the limited light. With hardly any contrast against the night, she could see two shadows across the roof. Nearly losing her footing, Percy bolted toward them. A faint green light illuminated their figures enough to see a doltish look dull Morez’s face. Molly easily plucked the duffel bag from her hand and hurled it over the edge of the roof. The plummeting explosion and bright green glow was bewitching to say the least. Like a firework too heavy for the sky, it splattered to the ground below with an impressive flash. It was a long way down. The look on Morez’s face in the flare was equally satisfying.

The woman, however, was not pleased in the slightest. Though her expression was no longer visible, she roiled, dangerously livid. She drew her hand back, but before she could slap Molly across the face, Percy slashed her sword, leaving a deep gash in the woman’s hand. It was all Percy could do to shove Molly aside as Morez tackled her to the ground. The woman stomped on Percy’s hand, causing her to lose her grip on her sword. Before Morez could grab it, Molly gave it a strong kick and sent it clattering across the roof. Morez’s lips were moving rapidly, but Percy couldn’t interpret what she was saying before the lady pulled out a knife.

Her hand throbbed and felt a little numb, but Percy grabbed Luciana’s arm to stop the knife being thrust at her face. Her heart pounded harder than it ever had before. Working her legs under Morez, she kicked with all her strength. The woman fell back, curling around her stomach. Before Percy could crawl away, Morez lunged forward to slash at her leg. A streak of fire burning up Percy’s thigh made her wince, but she ignored the pain. Unfortunately, that pause provided Morez with the opening to pin her down once again, throwing the eraser cuffs to splash across the roof. She thought about creating a wizard tower, but lightning wasn’t very selective, especially with all the water. They would all be hit.

Across the roof, Molly’s darkened form reached for the sword. Could she even lift it? It was much, much heavier than the sabers they used when fencing. The girl almost lost her balance picking it up. Morez seemed to notice as well, moving toward the girl, but Percy grabbed the front of her shirt and yanked her back, twisting to deliver a kick to her side. In response, Morez slashed even more furiously. Percy could barely keep the knife from hitting anywhere fatal, sacrificing her forearms, her hands, her shoulder. The gashes stung, pouring blood. They felt deep. In one last attempt, Morez drove the knife down. Percy turned her head just enough that the blade only sliced into her cheek and cut her right ear in half. Morez tossed the headphones away and Percy wailed as embers burned at the side of her face, growing hotter with every second. The blood pooling in her ear canal warped her hearing slightly.

Something flashed in her peripheral vision and she saw Molly, holding the sword like a bat, swing and hit Morez in the shoulder with the flat of the blade. She had to throw her entire body into the motion. It gave Percy the opening she needed and she staggered to her feet, trying to distance herself from the pain erupting across her body. Molly handed her the sword and she stood tall and firm to face their opponent.

Morez grinned carnivorously. “You’re in my playing field now, sweetheart. Let’s see what you’re made of.” Before Percy could even cover her ears, the woman already began speaking sugary words. “That little brat attacked me, did you see? She poses a danger to the public. We can’t have innocent citizens being attacked, right?”

Right. Percy felt her mind begin to fill with cotton. The pain became more present, more consuming. So much blood. Why did she have so many cuts? That little brat beside her shrunk away in terror, not sure what was going on.

The friendly lady playfully sauntered closer, smiling sweetly. “I know you’re a strong officer, better than most, actually. Take care of her for me, will you?”

Percy honed her attention on that little brat. Her wide green eyes darted back and forth as she scrambled away. Percy took a purposeful step toward her. She felt her body move without really thinking about it. Yes, she was an officer trained to uphold the law. Trained to kill.

It was her goal, after all, to eradicate all criminal scum that marred the face of the earth.

A memory cropped up in her mind. She couldn’t quite remember the details, but Percy remembered that someone she loved decided not to kill someone he hated. Why couldn’t she get a grasp of what had happened? Seemed like a good thing to think, anyhow. Why was she here?

Percy took another marionette step toward the girl. Who was the girl? Her daughter, wasn’t it? Then why was she doing this? No, no, she was trained to protect and help. It was Molly. She loved Molly. She froze in her tracks, trying to battle out the confusion in her mind.

Percy looked around and spotted a tall, beautiful woman, who gestured impatiently, egging her on. What’d she say? _Take care of her for me, will you?_

Whipping around, Percy launched her sword like some ridiculous boomerang. Morez jerkily fell back against the door, trying to steady herself as the sword clattered and hit the side of her leg.

There was really nowhere else left to go… Percy wanted to get that sword as far away from herself as possible just in case, and with the rain, that unfortunately left her defenseless.

Molly grabbed her hand and started to sprint.

“W-where are we going?” They were picking up speed toward the edge. Were they really going to do that? Percy raised a wizard tower behind her.

“Do you trust me, mom?” Molly shouted.

“Y-yes!”

“Good!”

Percy opened fire and electricity blazed across the roof, bolting from puddle to puddle, engulfing the roof in a storm of lightning. Together, they leapt off the edge with the world spread under their feet.

***

Ramsey’s first thought: _At least it’s my non-dominant hand, so I can still draw._

He voiced his second thought aloud. “OH FUCK!” Alarm rose and thrashed in his throat, but he choked it back. It was fine. It was fine.

Ramsey looked down to his left shoulder. He was able to partially turn himself to gold just as Hobbs fired, but there was a pretty good dent. Vibrations from the shot buzzed through his body and he felt the last dregs of his stamina draining away. Just had to hold it… but black spots popped in his vision and he staggered, the gold melting away. He heard an awful snap before he fully felt it. Bones were so much more brittle than gold. Blood flowed heavily and ran uncomfortably down his back.

Giovanni, the kid who seemed like he had never been scared once in his whole life, stood in front of him with a look of pure horror that consumed his face. “Ramsey?” he gasped.

“Nah, I’m fine. Hardly even hurts.” He shrugged it off, except for _holy shit that hurt_. Moving his arm sent shards of white-hot pain across his back and it felt strangely loose in the socket. As long as he didn’t move, he felt fine. It just felt like he had been shoved really hard. It was perfectly fine. “By the way, your monologue was pretty badass.”

Giovanni's mouth moved, but no sound came out.

“Ramsey, you’re in denial!” Fred shouted, coming to his side and putting an arm around his back to steady him. “This is serious! That was point-blank range!”

“Nah, I’ll be okay, don’t worry ‘bout me,” Ramsey said. “Ya know, with all the times I’ve had a gun shoved in my face, I’m surprised this is the first time I’ve been shot.”

The heat was sapping from Giovanni’s face. “What do we do?” he yelped, voice on the verge of breaking.

“I’ll just—I’ll just—here!” Fred fumbled with his phone. “Hello? Yes. We need an ambulance. Central Trust Bank. Uh, he’s just been shot in the left shoulder. There are already police here, actually. Okay, we’ll do that. Thanks.”

Ambulance? Hospital? Uh oh.

“What’d they say?” Giovanni asked.

“Uh, we just have to apply pressure so he doesn’t bleed out and make sure the patient stays calm!”

“I’m pretty sure the ‘patient’ is more calm than you guys,” Ramsey said.

Fred gestured wildly. “You are just in DENIAL!”

“You don’t KNOW!”

“I’m wearing my contacts, so I can SEE that you’re NOT OKAY!”

OW. Okay, it was starting to hurt a little. A new wave of pain caught him by surprise, making him hiss and curl around himself, but that only made it hurt more. It felt like a firebrand was being pressed into his shoulder blade. “Okay,” he gasped, voice strained, “maybe I’m— _ah_ —I’m not okay.” He slowly sank to the ground and tried to loosen up his muscles to stop the jagged stabs in his back, but it just kept hurting more and more. What was _wrong_? He used his right hand to tentatively measure the damage. His stomach dropped. He could feel broken shards of bone underneath his skin around his shoulder blade. His hand was dripping with blood when he pulled it away. His breathing raised in speed, but the movement caused more agony, so he was left choking and sputtering.

Giovanni knelt beside him, taking off his scarf to press it over the wound. That _hurt._ Ramsey made a sound somewhere between a gasp and a scream. It seared. Compared to losing his eye, this took the cake. He wondered if this was how Percy felt that one time. It sure was testing the boundaries of his pain tolerance.

“Do you feel like you’re going to pass out?” Fred asked.

“No.” Ramsey was hardly able to reply. Geez, when would the pain just mellow out for a second?

Words tumbled from Giovanni’s mouth in a confused stream. “Can’t you turn to gold and fix it?”

“Out of stamina. And I— _ow_ —don’t wanna mess anything up.” Talking was a laborious process.

“Why’d you do that, Ramsey?” Giovanni was starting to lose his composure, hyperventilating and shaking.

It was slightly beyond Ramsey’s capabilities to fully explain, so he just said, “Why wouldn’t I?”

“He was aiming for _me_!”

“Well, sucks for him.”

“Do you think you can stand?” Fred cut in.

“Yeah, but what about— _augh_ —the bombs?” That wave of vertigo did not bode well.

“The bag’s gone,” Fred said. “I think we’ve done all we can do considering our situation. The cops and Molly can handle the rest. We gotta get you some help.”

With the assistance of Fred’s outstretched arm, Ramsey pulled himself to his feet. His shirt felt as if it were soaked in battery acid, eating away at his flesh. They walked to the elevator and he could hear Giovanni trying to hold back panicked gasps. The kid’s yellow uniform was darkened by red stains, some of it his own, most of it Ramsey’s. “Don’t die on us, okay?” Giovanni said quietly.

Ramsey almost laughed. At what? He wasn’t sure. Maybe sheer joy that all three of them were alive? Eh, it probably wasn't fatal anyway. “Sure thing, kiddo. It’ll take more than that to kill me.” He held one side of his headphones up to his ear, probably getting them all bloody, but oh well.

— _I will survive! As long as I know how to love, I know I’ll stay alive_ —

Thanks, Gloria Gaynor.

***

A nervous sort of exhilaration rose in Percy’s stomach almost like nausea, but not quite. She simply couldn’t believe that she and Molly were plummeting off a four-story building. She almost didn’t notice the ground rushing to meet them because her eyes were dazzled by the view. They weren’t high enough to see the entire layout of Sweet Jazz City, but the rolling field of lights spread beneath them was like a vibrant array of jewels scattered across a black velvet blanket. The wind and the woosh made her feel like she was soaring.

She held Molly’s hand tighter. The grip was a little slick due to the blood. The girl’s face almost seemed to glow in the darkness. “We’re flying!” she called, absolutely beaming. It was difficult to hear her over the rush of the air currents they were rapidly sinking through.

Within a few more seconds, it was over. They slammed into the ground hard with a faint green glow, but it felt like landing on a mattress. Blood dripped down Percy’s chin and splattered on the pavement, so she held a sleeve over her cheek as she stood. She was too scared to touch her ear, which was producing a waterfall of blood pouring down her neck and shoulder.

Molly sat up and swayed. The night must have certainly taken a toll on her stamina. “Are you okay, Percy?” she asked tenderly, still holding her hand.

“Yes.” Well, on a relative scale. Well enough considering her situation.

“I see some people over there. Let’s go get you some help.”

Around the front of the building, there were three people huddled together on the curb. Two of them were wearing overstated, unmistakably yellow uniforms, meaning the third person was likely to be Ramsey. Wait, why was there so much red? Molly ran over and Percy pushed through the pain to keep up, anxious to check in on them. They both gasped at the sight that met them.

“Oh, hey guys,” Ramsey casually said, waving a blood-covered hand. He looked terribly pale.

“My God! What happened?” Percy knelt beside him despite the desperate wailing of the cut on her thigh and rose an apothecary from the ground. A pleasant aura filled the air and took the edge off the pain.

“Wha—what happened to _you_?” he asked, eyes immediately drawn to the right side of her face. He reached out to touch her cheek, using only the parts of his knuckles that weren’t covered in blood, and gently turned her head. “Your ear…”

“Er, I was engaged in hand-to-knife combat with Morez, but it appears that nothing is too deep.” The screaming of the cuts on her arms, hands, and shoulder begged to differ. She hoped the explanation would suffice because she urgently wanted to know what happened to him. “Are you alright?”

“Eh, not feelin’ too hot.”

“That’s gotta be the understatement of the century!” Giovanni scoffed.

“That’s a litote. Learned what that means from Percy. Anyway, I kinda got shot in the shoulder.”

Percy’s very consciousness seemed to falter for a moment. She couldn’t get her brain to think of any words to say. She leaned to get a better look at the shoulder in question. His hoodie was soaked.

“What?” Molly asked, urgently looking him over.

He gestured, although it was unnecessary due to the amount of blood indicating the location of the wound. “Yeah. Don’t worry, it’s the left side, though, so I can still draw.” He wilted at the movement, clenching his teeth together. “I’m fine, though,” he gasped. “‘Tis but a scratch.”

“He’s delusional, but we’ve already called an ambulance for him,” Fred said. “From the looks of it, you’ll be needing it too.”

If Ramsey was still conscious and cracking jokes, he’d likely last until the paramedics’ arrival. However, she desperately wished that she could have taken the bullet. She’d already survived one gunshot, what was one more? “What about you two?” Percy asked, looking the boys over.

“Just a bloody nose and some bruises,” Giovanni mumbled. “We’ll be fine. Glad it wasn’t… anything worse…”

Molly sighed in relief, pulling them both in a hug. “Oh, thank goodness! I was scared for you guys!” The boys held her back tightly.

“Are you… going to arrest us?” Fred asked, nervously looking over Molly’s head to the cop.

Percy thought for a long moment, closing her eyes and pursing her lips. It would certainly make Eros’ day, maybe even his whole week, but… “I am in no state to arrest you. See? I don’t even have my cuffs on me. _But_.”

The boys stood at attention.

“I am still an officer of the law and you are still wanted criminals. Understand that when I wear this uniform, I will do everything in my power to bring justice for your crimes. However, I ask only one thing of you.” Her face softened and she smiled despite the exhaustion. “Please run faster than I can chase you.”

The boys ecstatically grinned at each other. “Yes ma’am!” Fred said with a salute.

“Now would be a good time to get a head start. I needn’t remind you that Eros won’t be as merciful.”

“You’ve got a deal!” Giovanni announced. “We’ll now release these hostages from our custody _if_ you promise one thing.”

Percy cocked her head.

“You must promise that neither of them gets in any trouble whatsoever! It would be unlawful to do so, considering they are completely innocent and obeyed our commands as our UNWILLING HOSTAGES!”

Percy glanced at the two. Ramsey and Molly wore matching guilty smiles. “Alright,” Percy said with a chuckle. “You’ve got a deal.”

As Giovanni left, he turned back for a moment. “Now you keep a good eye on these two, Bear Trap! We don’t need them getting into any more trouble!”

“Sure thing, boss!” Molly called back. She watched as the boys disappeared into the night before turning her attention back to them, looking warily at all the blood. After a silent moment’s hesitation, she burst into tears.

“Did you get hurt too?” Ramsey asked, perplexed. He reached out to touch her, but quickly drew his hand away, not wanting to get blood all over her hoodie.

“Nah, I’m fine!” she blubbered. “I’m just stressed out ‘cause I thought—we were all gonna die, but we’re alive—but you guys aren’t okay!” She had to pause every so often between her words to gasp and sob.

Percy also wanted to give her a hug or at least a reassuring touch, but she was still covered in blood. Blinking away her tears with a sniff, Molly scooted closer and took both of their hands, not seeming to mind the blood. She reddened slightly and cast her gaze to the ground. Percy squeezed her hand and shared a smile with Ramsey through the pain. It was nice to be together again.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” Ramsey said. “The doctors will fix us right up. Speakin’ of…”

Behind them, the doors of the bank slammed open, Meryl and Eros running out. Behind them, two officers shoved along the struggling pair of convicts, screaming and shouting at one another.

“Hey, medic!” Ramsey called, turning. The movement made him flinch.

Meryl shrieked at seeing the two of them and their blood-stained clothes, dashing over as fast as her legs would carry. She skidded to a halt beside them, a stream of incoherent thoughts pouring from her mouth. “You guys! What—when did—okay—not okay!” She shook her head and shoved her glasses up her nose, snapping into doctor mode. She did a quick once-over of Percy, who was closer. “Ooh, those cuts look deep, but not horribly deep. I don’t think you’ll risk bleeding out, especially if you receive medical attention soon. Oh dear…” She gently touched Percy’s cheek to turn her head. “You’ll most likely have a scar across your cheek and ear. Hm, it might very slightly affect your hearing because the sound vibrations will have a different shape to bounce off of.”

A scar. For the first time, she gently touched her ear for only a moment, pulling away because of the stinging. It was ripped clean in half horizontally a little above the lobe. She wondered what the stitching and healing process would be like since it was mostly cartilage.

Meryl moved on to Ramsey, not quite sure where to start. “Uh, got shot in the shoulder blade,” he said quietly. “I was gold at the time, but I ran out of stamina.”

“Oh gosh…” She every so slightly touched Ramsey’s shoulder, but it caused him to yelp and jerk away. He bit down hard on his sleeve and squeezed his eyes shut when Meryl touched it again. “Hm, the bone’s shattered. Looks like it didn’t hit your subclavian artery, though… How much can you move your arm?”

“Hardly at all.”

“Clavicle, acromion, scapula, coracoid process, ligaments… You’ve got a lot of surgery in your future.”

Gently, Molly touched Ramsey’s arm and a faint green light passed from her fingers, causing him to finally loosen up. She seemed to bet getting exhausted from her epithet use. A horribly deep ocean filled Percy’s stomach.

Ramsey sighed dejectedly. “Am I gonna have a messed up shoulder for the rest of my life?”

Meryl grimaced. “That’s… a possibility. But by turning to gold, you saved yourself from a worse fate. And tell your doctor about your epithet. With all the bone fragments, it’s not as linear as reattaching an arm, but it’s worth a try.”

“Well, at least it wasn’t my right arm,” he whispered to himself. He looked to Percy and tried on a smile for a moment. “But hey, now we’ll match. Scars and bullet wounds and everything.”

Percy smiled softly. “Yes, we will.” The aftermath they faced was discouraging if not daunting, but at least they could work through it together. “What happened after we left, Meryl?”

The ginger shrugged. “Nowhere near as exciting as what happened to you guys, but Eros and I tackled Hobbs together, then our backup arrived. We followed you up to the roof, but when we got up there, you were gone and Morez was unconscious. That was really scary for a minute there. But as you can see, we got the happy couple arrested. Happy endings all around.”

“Why did you shoot him?” Percy asked.

A somber smile crawled across Meryl’s face. “You noticed, too, right? The familiar-sounding name?”

She nodded.

“Let me tell you the story of Jasper Maddox. He’s apparently something of a crime lord. They mostly stole artifacts, artwork, valuables, anything, and they built a massive fortune off of it. Jasper wanted to build a fortune above ground as well as under, so he started investing his money into starting a bank. He was never caught until one heist a few years ago.” She glanced over her shoulder at the couple sitting in the back of a cruiser, deflating slightly. “He assaulted a young police officer at a museum heist, and that was his undoing. But he was drowning in money, so he got his bail paid, he paid off lawyers and judges for the softest sentence possible, then he changed his name to avoid the stigma. And his life continued as normal. Until now. Looks like we’ve got a lot of digging to do.”

“So he’s the bastard that…?” Ramsey trailed off.

Percy’s mind flashed back to the incident years earlier. When she checked up on Meryl after the trial, she sobbed in her arms, ashamed that she could only bear to stare at the floor around him, hardly able to even glance at his face.

Meryl absent-mindedly touched her eyepatch. “Yup. I just couldn’t kill him. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a good person or because I’m vindictive and would rather watch him suffer than die. But, Eros said he’ll let me head the case to uncover all of his old crimes. Some of the stuff we’re working with will be decades old, but—” she nodded toward Morez with a sly grin “—I think we’ve got someone that’ll give us a whole buttload of leads.”

That was Meryl, always so persistent. She cooly brushed off the uneasiness and turned her back on Hobbs, refusing to look at him again. Percy wondered if she felt some sense of closure from it all. The ginger began to quietly describe the procedures Ramsey would likely have to go through. His face fell and he began to breathe a little faster, but Meryl offered him a comforting smile.

Percy stood and the movement made her dizzy, her cuts burning and begging her to stay still. “Excuse me for a moment.”

Molly reached out. “Wait, Percy—”

“I’ll only be a few minutes.” Each step threatened to be her downfall, but she kept her strides even and confident as she made her way over to the car containing Morez and Hobbs or Maddox, whatever his name was. He had a wad of gauze pressed to the side of his head. The two stopped bickering as soon as she opened the door. They stared silently, waiting for her to speak first. She paused, unsure of what she wanted to say herself. “Well… May I ask why?”

“Why I did it?” Morez asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, I suppose,” Percy said. “You’ve risked so much for unnecessary revenge. I don’t understand.”

“Well, once you’ve got some asshole to forcefully dip your toes in the world of crime, it’s pretty easy,” she said with a shrug, shooting a glare at her ex. “I guess there’s no point in using those Miranda rights since you’ve been on my tail this whole time. I had a feeling it would end this way.” She had a soft and bitter laugh that made the back of Percy’s neck prickle. “After the divorce, I started by leaving a tub of ice cream on his doorstep.”

Hobbs’ utterance of “That was you?” went ignored.

“He’s lactose intolerant and it would get all melty and sticky on his hands. So dumb. I knew it wasn’t enough. Once someone’s ruined your life and your individuality, petty shit like that will never be enough.” She leaned back in her seat, some of the mania starting to show through her expression. “I decided to hit him where it hurts. His damn bank was always more important to him than I was. I already knew how everything worked, so I just planned it, got some help, and did it. Got the supplies to make counterfeit. I booked my printer under a different name every time so my employees wouldn’t get suspicious, then I tendered it as cash and didn’t put any money in the register. I always counted the tills, so no one noticed. I was able to manage the store while we made it. Then I found out when the delivery truck would get maintenance and that freckled kid snuck in and messed up the lock while the mechanic was on break. That little girl found a police uniform from God knows where, so we set up a diversion. From there, it was easy.”

It was all starting to click together in Percy’s mind, each piece of the puzzle fitting together. “What about the bombs?”

“That kid with the annoying pink hair is actually pretty smart once you get past how dumb he is. He pretty much told me how to make them without ever suspecting a thing. I was raised in Arietta, so I knew some good places for peace and quiet. I didn’t want any of that too close in case I got caught.”

The fact that they both shared a hometown only made Percy hate the place even more. Sure, it was through no fault of its own, but Arietta was just her least favorite place to be. “And—”

“And the wife, yeah?” Morez’s expression slipped into the unreadable, making it all the more terrifying. “I started to hang out with her a few months ago, earn her trust. Jasper never cared what his wife did unless it revolved around him, so they never connected the dots. Then I took her on a trip out of town and knocked her off. If he doesn’t treat his wife right, then he doesn’t deserve a wife. It was kind of freaky, though. Cried myself to sleep for a whole week. Too bad she was a victim of circumstance. She was a nice gal.”

That empty look in her eyes, the detachment from reality. A complete lack of remorse. It made Percy feel so cold she was almost convinced her skin was turning purple.

“So you really did…” Hobbs muttered disbelievingly.

“Oh, shut up. She was only ever a sex toy to you,” the woman snapped.

He didn’t respond.

“Maybe my revenge didn’t completely pan out,” Morez mused, “but hopefully this’ll open up to reveal all his dirty secrets. Now maybe people will start believing me when I tell them stuff. Jasper was always good at shoving money down peoples’ throats to keep them from using what I told them.”

It was almost like observing a mental patient. This woman lost everything to her obsession with vengeance, yet she still considered it worth it. Percy was hardly able to fathom it. “What was your epithet?” She realized that was a bad question considering the woman was currently wearing eraser cuffs.

“Entice.” Hobbs fixed a broken stare at his hands. “She’s always had a way with words, a method of convincing people to do things her way. She could never get people to go against their strict morals, but she could always twist things, make things seem morally gray in the moment, get them pretty dang close to doing something they’d sorely regret. She could strip down a whole code of ethics to the base of human nature. Maybe you’d never kill a loved one, but if there’s even a shred of you that’s willing to kill, even if it’s limited to specific situations, she could use that against you. It all depends on how strong your will is.” He pressed his gauze a little harder. “I only wished I realized how much she used it sooner. She always loved being able to break people down to their core.”

That… was chilling. Percy didn’t want to take it as a testament of her own willpower, but she was so grateful there was something in her to keep her from doing something she would regret for the rest of her life. “One last question, if I may ask,” Percy said. “It’s about that ginger over there. Meryl Lockhart. You might remember her.”

Hobbs sneered and turned away. “Hmph. I’ll use that right to remain silent now.”

Swiftly approaching sirens made Percy jump and she took that as her cue to get back to Ramsey. She’d never ridden in an ambulance before, not that it was something she really wanted to mark off her bucket list. She took one last look at the couple before her. Two people so bitter, so hateful, so broken, they were hardly recognizable as humans. She hoped they wouldn’t stay that way forever. Shutting the door, she quickly rejoined the real people where she knew she would feel warmth again.


	16. Chapter 16

Despite all instruction not to, Ramsey tried to move his arm. Just a tiny bit. However, that was a mistake. He could very sharply feel things move in his shoulder that didn’t move the way they were supposed to, so he gave up. Geez, he hardly even lifted his arm and it caused _that_ much pain, even through the mountain of painkillers he took? He was not looking forward to the months ahead. But hey, doc said they’d take some x-rays in a few weeks and see where that got them. If his bones were all straightened out and healing well enough by that point, then he could try turning to gold and welding the mess back together. He held back a mild panic attack at the thought.

The last thing he remembered from the night before was seeing Percy’s bloody face and waving to her as they parted at the hospital. Then nothing. When he woke up again, his shoulder was all patched up, the best they could do at the time anyway, and some fuzzy doctor told him a bunch of stuff that blurred in his ears and didn’t make sense in his brain. Then he fell asleep again and it was suddenly six in the evening. Through the window, he could see that it was already getting dark again, which made the room seem all the whiter. It was nice to sleep the day away, especially after staying up to five in the morning fighting crime. What a mess.

What Ramsey really wanted to do was see Percy again. A cold sort of urgency sat heavily in his stomach, but he knew she was in her own hospital room getting stitched up. He just really wanted to talk to her… And then Molly was currently with Meryl, so it would be nice to see her too, and maybe Meryl if she was extra nice. Man, he hated hospitals. They always made him anxious. Not full-on panicked or anything, but just the background anxiety that was always present, always pounding in the back of his head. He stared at the smiley face pain chart across the room, trying to clear his mind, but that was hard with the constant fire burning across his back. Hm, would he say moderate pain? No, probably severe. A good 7.3 was probably accurate. He related much more with the 8 face, though.

The door slowly creaked open, making him jump, but that only caused more pain, so he forced himself to stay still as the agony ebbed and flowed. A distinctive head of pink hair looked through before stepping in.  
  


“Hey, kiddo. Wassup?” Ramsey said. He was glad to see somebody, although it was difficult to hide the strain in his voice.

Giovanni nervously walked to a chair along the wall, staring resolutely at the floor tiles. “Eh. Fred says hi. How’d everything go for you?”

Ramsey would have shrugged. Man, he had to stop almost doing that. “Well, I’m not bleeding out anymore, so that’s gotta mean somethin’.”

“Yeah…” He busied himself with tightening the laces on his shoes. They went silent, listening to the footsteps and strings of conversation from the hallway. After a moment, Giovanni awkwardly handed him a chocolate bar and a box of gum. “Please accept this humble offering from the vending machine downstairs.”

“Heh, thanks.” Yes, some sugar. He set them on the bedside table, trying to read Giovanni’s face. Kid seemed so anxious, but it was completely unlike him. “Really, what’s up? We’re in a hospital, but you’re actin’ like we’re in a morgue.”

Still, Giovanni refused to look up. “Just tired and stressed, ya know…”

He knew that wasn’t it. “C’mon, if you gotta get something off your chest, then go ahead.”

Giovanni sighed, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “Just… I’m sorry.”

Ramsey raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate.

“Well…” The kid fidgeted and tugged at his hair. “I just keep replaying what happened over and over in my head. Haven’t been able to sleep because of it. I just keep thinking about what I could have done differently.”

“Hey, my shoulder’s worth less than your head, kid.”

He released a long, defeated sigh, tugging at the fluffy collar of his jacket. “But what if it wasn’t your shoulder? What if you died?”

“I knew that was a risk and I took it. But my epithet lessened that risk significantly.”

“I dunno. You shouldn’t have done that.”

“And let you get shot?”

“I dunno.”

“Got a death wish or somethin’?”

“No.” Giovanni buried his face in his hands. “Sorry. I probably sound awful right now, but it’s just hard to accept what happened when I feel so guilty.”

Ramsey bit his cheek, being able to relate all too well. “I know it’s hard to magically stop feeling guilty, but I hope you don’t blame yourself.”

“But I do,” he muttered, his frustration becoming apparent. “It was my fault. I was getting too cocky and I should have just told them what they wanted to hear. I mean, dude was waving a gun around, so I should have known to just shut up! But I’m such a dumbass!”

“Perhaps. But it’s already happened, and I’d say the outcome is pretty decent.”

Giovanni pressed his hands over his face. “I don’t think so. It should’ve been me.”

His heart twinged at seeing him so distraught. “If you died, I’d be saying the same thing.”

“I just—” Giovanni inhaled sharply in a sudden sob. “I shouldn’t have tangled everyone up with this mess in the first place! I didn’t even think about it until someone got hurt!”

Ramsey never thought he’d see the day when Giovanni cried. He wasn’t quite sure how to comfort him or how to communicate that it really was alright. “Gio, you did what you thought was right. I won’t comment on the criminal elements, that’s for you to make up your mind about, but you protected your friends and saved an entire organization. What’s wrong with that?”

Giovanni gasped rapidly, trying to calm down enough to speak. “What’s wrong is that I had to protect my friends from the danger _I_ put them in! What kind of boss does that make me? And I couldn’t even protect you…”

“We all knew what we were getting ourselves into and we followed you anyway. You can’t take the blame all the time.”

“But—ugh.” He sank further in his dark corner of the room. “Do you resent me?”

“No. Course not.” Ramsey tried to get a better look at the kid’s face. “You’re lucky I’m a bad person, ‘cause if I resented you, I would’ve let you get shot. I’m not really looking forward to the pain and suffering ahead, but I don’t regret taking a bullet for you.”

Clamping his hands over his head, Giovanni sobbed out a few more strangled sentences. “I can’t believe you almost died ‘cause of me! I just keep thinking about what would have happened if you _did_ die. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Ramsey was running out of things to say, so he stammered out the first thing that came to his mind. “If you need, I’ve got a shoulder for you to cry on.” This caused the kid to finally look up and scrub some of the tears from his cheeks. “Only one, though. Other one’s under construction.” He immediately bit back a smile.

Giovanni hiccuped a few sodden laughs. “Was that some lame dad joke?” Despite how awful that was, his smile grew a little wider.

Pathetically enough, Ramsey had to choke back laughter at his own dumb joke because it hurt too much to laugh. “I’m sorry. That was—I just couldn’t resist.”

Giovanni pushed back some of his hair, revealing his raw cheeks and a genuine grin. “For saving my life, I owe you big time.”

“Nah, not really.”

“No, seriously.”

Well, if he _had_ to say something… “Cool. If you’ve got a couple bucks to spare, we could get milkshakes. Well, when I’m not stuck at the hospital.”

“How many milkshakes do you have left on the list?”

“20.”

Giovanni flashed some finger guns. “Call me up for the next 20 milkshakes and I’ll cover it!”

“You sure? That’s gonna be, like, 75 bucks.”

“Eh, I’ll just do a few more chores around the house. I already donated a chunk of my savings to the DDA, though, so it might be a bit before I can afford milkshakes.”

Ramsey laughed. “My gosh, kid! No wonder you can’t afford new uniforms.”

Shrugging, Giovanni flashed a wicked grin. “Oh, but that’s the mark of a true villain! The ones in the nice uniforms that sit in their lairs while the minions do the work? LOSERS. The boys and I get down and dirty.”

“You’re about as villainous as Robin Hood. Ya know, the one in tights.”

Giovanni leapt up into a dramatic pose. “With a miniskirt, I would ROCK those tights!”

There was the Giovanni he knew. “Heh, bet you would, kiddo.”

“Anyway,” he began, reinvigorated, “I should probably blow this popsicle stand in case some cops come nosin’ around.” Giovanni paused about partway across the room, turning back with a much more mellow smile. “Thanks, by the way. It’s good to know you don’t hate me.”

“Of course,” Ramsey said, offering a fist bump. “Oh, before you go I, uh…” A sense of euphoria rose in his chest. “Percy and I are getting married, by the way. I dunno, I guess that’s not relevant to our conversation, but I thought it was nice.”

“What? That’s great! Explains the dad joke!” Giovanni said with a laugh. “So you have sealed the pact by blood?”

“Wha—no. Why?”

“Ooh, now when all the ladies and gents are pining for you, you can flash your ring and say ‘Naw, babe, I’M TAKEN!’”

“There is literally no one pining for me.”

“So the rat man knows not of his own charms?”

Ramsey pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh between his teeth. “Gio.”

He gently put a hand to his heart, beginning a soulful recitation. “ _He walks in beauty, like the night. Of cloudless climes and starry skies_ —”

“Get out.”

Snickering, Giovanni slipped through the door. Ramsey grabbed a stick of gum and chewed hard, trying to chew away the stupid grin he had on his face. He had no idea the kid read poetry. Good kid.

***

Very tenderly, Percy pressed a finger to the stitches on her cheek, barely brushing them. As expected, it stung horribly and she quickly drew her hand away, which set off a domino effect of wailing stitches across her body. The previous night, she hadn’t really taken stock of the damage, but now each cut made itself very apparent. The one across her shoulder burned, the one on her thigh was particularly troublesome, and there were so many on her hands and arms that she didn’t bother to count. Everytime she moved in even the slightest, she could feel her skin tighten and tug at the stitches. And her ear… She didn’t even want to know what it looked like, if the pain was anything to go off of. The doctors had added a small skin graft and stitched it together, which caused her hearing to feel unbalanced. How distressing.

But perhaps it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. The doctor said that things were looking pretty decent and that she could be released from the hospital soon. It just felt… awful. Everything. Her heart wouldn’t stop pounding and her head felt so frustrated that it hurt. She was terrified for Molly, Ramsey, the boys, the fate of the case. She still wasn’t sure of anything that happened or the extent of Molly’s involvement. She just had to talk to her, but was panicked at the thought of doing so. Really, she was scared to see the result of their conversation.

Would she lose her?

The door creaking open jolted her out of her out of her ruminations. “Hey, Perc’.”

Percy smiled, but not too widely. It pulled at the sutures. “Hello, Meryl.”

Molly crept in behind her and together, they stood by the side of the bed, each leaning in to give Percy a side hug. The girl folded her arms tightly around herself, almost as if existing in her own body was uncomfortable.

“Are you doing alright, Perc’?” Meryl asked with an empathetic smile. If anyone knew how Percy felt, it would most definitely be Meryl. She found herself being really grateful that they were friends.

Percy sighed. “I’m sore, but it seems to be proceeding with a decent outlook. I’ll likely be discharged this evening.”

Her happy facade faltered, but she quickly hid it by forcing some words out. “That’s the thing about hospitals,” Meryl said, shrugging. “The second you’re off death row, they kick you out. We brought you fresh clothes, though, in the case that you would be discharged.” She seemed subdued, but not empty. She molded her mouth into a rueful smile when she caught Percy’s eye. An assurance.

“Thank you,” Percy said, trying on another smile. The action took more energy than normal. “I hate being trapped in a hospital room, anyway.”

“Good on ya.” There was an awkward pause in which Meryl looked back and forth between the cop and the girl. “Well,” she began awkwardly, stepping backward to the door, “I’ll leave you guys to it. I’ll go terrorize Ramsey in the meantime.”

“But Meryl—”

“Visit!” Meryl hastily corrected. “I _meant_ to say that I’d _visit_ him.”

Percy sighed once again, but this time a much longer one. “Please be nice. He just got shot for crying out loud.”

“Oh, but of course!” Her mischievous grin as she turned tail suggested otherwise. If Meryl was anything, she was an unstoppable force and her collision course always seemed to be set on Ramsey.

When the door closed, it fell to a pervasive silence. Even all background noise seemed to back away. Percy and Molly looked at each other, each avoiding direct eye contact. The atmosphere was that of a tense game of chess, each person working so hard on anticipating the opposition’s movements that they hesitated to make their own.

“Well,” Molly began unassuredly. She spoke softly, but the sound was sharp against the relative quiet. “I guess you’re mad at me, huh?”

“A little. But I’m more disappointed than angry.”

She smiled softly, gazing at the floor. “You’re always good at keeping your cool. Impressive considering I was such a burden last night.”

Percy felt tempted to shake her hands, work out some of the nervous energy, but she resorted to tapping her fingers. “I do understand that you really wanted to help, but I would have appreciated it if you listened to me.” She struggled to keep her voice even, so she fell to a rhythmic monotone. “I know that you weren’t oblivious to the danger, but you might have miscalculated it. If anything happened to you, I could never forgive myself.”

“No, I understand,” Molly said, slumping into one of the chairs by the wall. “I should’ve listened. But I did come in handy, yeah?” She immediately bit her lip as if trying to bite back the words.

Percy offered an admissive nod. “Yes, you certainly did. I’m glad for your help. However, I would prefer if you didn’t take such significant risks in the future.”

“Yeah… I wish I could grow up already. Then I wouldn’t be so useless.” Her voice quavered at the last word.

“But you’re not useless,” Percy said kindly. “You don’t have to prove it either.”

“Apparently I always feel like I have to,” Molly said with a grimace. “When people see me, I want them to see… someone who’s capable and respectable. I want to be someone that people can depend on.”

“I didn’t realize.” Her heart twisted on itself. She knew the feeling all too well. It was thoughts like those that made her stifle her individuality when she was younger in a desperate attempt to please the adults around her. “I hope you know that you _are_ loved and needed in many peoples’ lives. I’ll bet Giovanni and Fred would be outraged to hear you think so lowly of yourself.” This earned a small laugh from the girl. “But you will grow up in time. Right now, give yourself the leniency to enjoy your childhood.”

“Thanks,” Molly said with a bittersweet smile. “I guess I really had my heart set on helping Gio and Fred so that I could feel like I was making a difference.” She fidgeted uncomfortably. “I guess I should come clean. I’ve been sneaking out of the house for a few weeks now. At night and while you were at work. I’m sorry.”

Percy raised her eyebrows at feeling a jolt in her stomach. How had she not noticed? Well, she did have a regular sleep schedule as opposed to the girl. But still… how alarming that so much was happening under her radar.

“Ramsey caught me a few days ago.” Molly chuckled nervously, turning red. “I feel bad ‘cause I’m pretty sure I almost gave him a panic attack. But I asked him not to tell you, so please don’t get mad at him. But this morning he promised to help us and gave us twelve hours to clean up the mess before he talked to you. I guess I went a little over the time limit, but extenuating circumstances, ya know?”

Percy wasn’t really sure of what to say to that.

Molly pressed her sleeves over the sides of her face, trying to hide the tears starting to glaze her eyes. “I’m really sorry! I guess I sort of let all these personal problems ruin our relationship, but I hope you can forgive me.”

“Ah, but our relationship isn’t ruined.” Percy reached out to pull the girl’s hands from her face and looked into her eyes. “I promised that I’d love you unconditionally, didn’t I? It holds true then and it holds true now.”

Finally looking up, Molly’s green eyes were refulgent. “Does—does that mean you still want to adopt me?” Her voice radiated with life again.

“Of course. If you’ll still have me as your mother.”

Molly pressed her sleeves to her cheeks, laughing softly as if she couldn’t believe it. “I’m glad that you still want me.” She leaned back in her seat, much more at ease than she had been. “By the way,” Molly began with a shrug, “I know that Giovanni made you promise not to get me in trouble, but I wouldn’t blame you if you punished me or anything. I mean, I kinda betrayed your trust, and all. Oh, and I borrowed your uniform too.” Her mouth stretched into a guilty grin and her cheeks became rosy. “I held it up to myself in the mirror and pretended I was a cop.”

Percy laughed, imagining Molly trying on the uniform with her arms only reaching partway through the sleeves. “Yes, I did make that connection, at least, and I was thinking of something along those lines. You’re grounded. For… two weeks.”

Molly grinned, tugging at a strand of her hair. “Yeah, I kinda deserved that. So what’re the rules?”

Putting a hand to her chin, Percy thought on it for a moment. “Hm. No hanging out with Giovanni or Fred.” She’d have to deliberate with Ramsey, but that seemed fitting.

“Hmmm. I don’t think I’ve ever been grounded before. My dad never bothered.”

“We can figure it out together. I am still new to this parenting thing, after all,” Percy said, offering a smile. However, a few things were still unsettled in her mind. “Why did you assist in the theft? To what end?”

Molly grinned knowingly, tapping her temple with a finger. “You know that DDA place downtown? Perhaps you’ve heard of the drama surrounding it lately.”

“Oh yes. The one Hobbs was going to buy out?” She remembered casually stumbling upon the story as she read the news a few months earlier. It saddened her, seeing something so close to her heart being shut down. However, she needed no additional explanation to connect the dots as a wave of relief came over her.

“That’s why we stole it. We took Morez’s portion, too.”

Percy grinned and shook her head. There was no one word to properly describe those boys. Perhaps “absurdly incredible” was a near enough equivalent. “I do have one more question. Why did you help me with the investigation? You must have known about the secret panel in the print shop. And surely you knew that it might eventually lead to you and the boys getting caught.”

“Oh, you know,” Molly said with a wave of her hand. “We wanted Morez to get caught and everything, so we purposefully left little clues behind to help you out. But…” She shrugged, casting a side swept glance to the floor. “I just really liked spending the time with you.”

Heat in Percy’s chest made her feel like she was glowing. She was about to share the sentiment when a nurse walked in the room, cutting her off before she spoke. “Hello, darlin’. Let’s check up on those stitches.” She brushed her dreadlocks back as she looked up and down Percy’s arms and across her face. “Mm hm, looking decent.” She placed a piece of paper on the bedside table. “Read over the care instructions and you’re free to go.”

“Excellent, thank you,” Percy said. “Now Molly, let us join Meryl in terrorizing Ramsey.”

Molly laughed, some of the hollowness in her expression fading away. “Percy! For shame!”

She grinned as she slipped into the bathroom to change her clothes, which ended up proving to be a more difficult maneuver than she would have expected. Each stitch winced at each small move she made and as she walked, the one on her thigh demanded that it not be forgotten. Together with Molly, she walked down the halls a little slower than normal.

Molly’s eyes were filled with a compassion that comforted Percy’s troubled mind. “Are you doing okay, mom?”

This time, Percy couldn’t resist a happy hand flap despite the pain. “I’m okay.” She couldn’t stop the rush of heat to her cheeks either. “I feel nice when you call me that.”

Beaming, Molly gently held her hand. “It feels nice to call someone that again. It’s like I’m free from having to parent myself.” With a more somber look, she traced the floor tiles with her gaze. “The last time I called someone that… It was so loud and blazing. I’ll never know if she heard me or not. Or maybe I just didn’t hear her calling back.”

Molly quickly turned away to open the door. Percy gave her hand a squeeze as they walked into the room.

“Augh! Percy! Save me!” Apparently they had stumbled upon a circus because Ramsey and Meryl were already bickering even though they couldn’t have been left alone for more than ten minutes. The ginger was reaching for Ramsey’s eye, which for some reason was in his hand instead of his head.

Meryl whipped around with a falsely innocent grin. “I just randomly asked if he could take his eyeball out and I wanted to see how heavy it was!”

“It’s hollow! Why would it be heavy?” Ramsey asked with incredulity, popping his eye back in his socket.

“It’s gold!”

“Gilded, yeah! This thing would weigh, like, five ounces if it were solid gold!”

“It’s cool and I wanted to look at it!”

“Look with your eyes!” He snickered. “Oh, wait.”

Meryl punched him in the good shoulder, albeit gently. Percy and Molly shot each other an amused glance before coming to the bedside.

“Anyway, glad to see you’re alive,” Ramsey said, taking one of Percy’s hands. He bit on his cheek at seeing the rows of stitches across the heel of her left palm and the bandages wrapped around her fingers. “Alive, but lookin’ a little rough.”

“Don’t worry, the Frankenstein stage will be over in a few weeks,” Meryl said, giving her a consoling pat on the back.

He kissed her hand, making Percy blush a little. “Hm, then it might be awhile before I can get a ring on there, eh?” Ramsey said with a grin.

Molly cocked her head. “What?”

Meryl choked back a laugh.

“Are _you_ doing alright?” Percy asked, sitting on the side of the bed and still holding to his hand. He looked quite worn.

“I’m fine,” he sighed. “It hurts. A lot. And I’m gonna have my arm in a sling for a few weeks. But I can still draw, so that’s good.”

“Wait, why’d Ramsey say that? That thing?” Molly asked, her confusion becoming increasingly evident as she stepped forward and touched Ramsey’s shoulder with a green glow.

Finally, Meryl burst out laughing. “You guys should tell her already!”

“Oh yeah, that reminds me,” Ramsey said. What a dork. “We got a little somethin’ to tell ya, Molly.” He glanced expectantly at Percy.

“Oh, uh.” She has been so excited to tell Molly, but they never had time with all that came up. Percy laughed at the sheer beauty of it all. “We’re engaged. To be married.”

Molly’s mouth fell wide open. “Woah, really?”

“Uh, I mean, if that’s cool with you, kiddo,” Ramsey quickly added, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

“I get a new mom _and_ dad?” Molly exclaimed. Hearing that made Percy’s heart melt. “Wai—Ramsey, are you tearing up?”

“N-no.”

“Yeah, you totally are!”

“The pain, kiddo. _The pain._ ”

“I’m literally dumbing down the pain as we speak.”

“Fine, you got me, sweetheart.” Ramsey scrubbed at his cheeks, but smiled brightly all the same. “Love ya, Molly.”

“I love you too, dad!”

Ramsey slapped his hand over his face, but couldn’t hide the lovely fuschia that colored his cheeks. “Geez, you’re too sweet.”

“Let me guess! You got on one knee with a stick of butter, huh?” Molly said with an over-exaggerated wink.

Snickering, Ramsey finally looked up again. “Yeah, and you know what I said? I said, ‘Percy, my life would be _butter_ with you in it.’”

Meryl clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her howl of laughter. “That’s _dairy_ clever!”

Percy hated herself for laughing at that. “No, that’s not what happened—”

“No, no, that was pretty _gouda_ ,” Molly giggled.

“I figured if I had butter, I would have a smaller _margarine_ of error,” Ramsey said, looking to Percy for a reaction.

She sighed. “Too cheesy. Wait—no—”

“Yes, join in our merriment, Perc,’” Meryl said.

“If you keep making these awful puns, you’re going to end up prov _alone,_ ” Percy said, shooting a wry look at Ramsey.

He choked on a laugh. “Augh! Percy! You’re killin’ me!”

“Anyway, when are you getting married?” Molly asked with an excited little hop.

Meryl shot a knowing look at Percy. “That’s what I wanna know, too!”

“Er…” Percy looked to Ramsey, but he only shrugged. Not the bad shoulder, though. “Sometime in the future. We’ll figure it out eventually.”

“Sometime this decade would be nice!” Meryl stood and stretched, rubbing the bruise on her jaw. “In the meantime, I’m going down to the station to finish the report. Apparently, we can’t find where the money ended up. Our convicts keep complaining about how it was stolen and donated to some organization, but I personally took a look at their records and everything looks normal to me.” She winked just before she turned to leave. Did she know? “I’m going to look Maddox right in the eye as I file the report that will land his ass in prison.”

“Yeah! You tell that stinky garbage man!” Molly cheered, pumping her fist in the air.

Percy noticed that while Meryl rode the victory wave, her hands shook and trepidation tainted her expression. “Will you be alright, Meryl?”

The ginger paused. “I’m not sure,” she said quietly. “It’s strange meeting him again. I still feel like a victim in front of him.” She folded her arms and rubbed the latticework of scars hidden by her sleeves. “I’m going to make sure he knows I’m the one that found the bullet casing, the gun, and his fingerprints. And that it’s my friend he shot. And then I’ll tear his life apart one crime at a time. But, I’ll also make sure he knows that I held back last night. A mercy he never afforded me.” Meryl saluted as she stepped out.

Percy saluted back. Underneath, she was pretty sure that woman was made of steel.

Percy had to move aside so that Molly could join them on the bed as well. Somehow, the three of them were able to fit. “So,” the girl began, slinging her backpack off her shoulders. “You’re gonna be in the hospital for a little while, right?”

“Yeah, a week at the bare minimum,” Ramsey said, raising an eyebrow.

“Awesome! Not being in the hospital, I mean, but now you’ll have time for this!” She unearthed her Switch from the depths of her bag, wielding it as if it were Excalibur. “I’m finally gonna get you to play Breath of the Wild!”

Ramsey grinned as he took the system. “I mean, I got nothin’ better to do.”

Percy snuggled closer and intently watched as Ramsey nearly lost it over the opening and the grand sweep of Hyrule. “I know, right?” Molly squealed, buzzing with elation.

The two of them made for quite the entertaining duo—no. The three of them made for quite the wonderful family.

oh, and here is doddle, sorry for poor image quality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s a little interaction I found buried in the mess of my story notes:  
> Likely written at one a.m.
> 
> Ramsey and Molly at home on the couch.  
> M: You eyein’ my cookie?  
> R: *pulls out his eyeball* Yes.  
> M: *screams and runs away*  
> R: *laughs and steals her cookie*  
> R: *except he gives it back cuz he kinda feels bad*
> 
> You guys ready for the last chapter? cuz im not


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _By far_ , this chapter has given me the most anxiety to write. Life and death situations? Heck yeah! I’m all on board! Weddings? *nervously sweats and rocks back and forth* *Googles “how the heck do weddings work pls help”*
> 
> I dunno how the heck I’m ever gonna get married (if) ‘cause weddings are frickin terrifying. Like, there’s people and stuff! _*or maybe I’m just uncovering some of my deepest insecurities about being in a relationship*_ But that’s okay. Recognizing insecurities helps us face them.
> 
> Oh yeah, and this story has made a whopping 229 pages in my document (Cambria, 11 pt., 1.15 spacing, space after each paragraph). And the series as a whole is about equivalent in length to _Oliver Twist_. Crazy. Huzzah!

Ramsey adjusted his sling for what felt like the thousandth time in the past four minutes. Still wasn’t used to it. Or maybe it was just the never-ceasing pain in his shoulder that made it so uncomfortable. At least he wasn’t alone. Percy had reported her entire body aching, but as she strode in front of him through the prison doors, she seemed to hide it a lot better than he could. Of course, she’d always been strong like that. She had even been adjusting to the scar across her cheek and ear pretty well. He knew firsthand how all the stares and self-consciousness sucked, but she wore it like a badge, a symbol that she survived. It suited her.

This time, no guards trailed them as they walked down the hall. And this time, Percy was there to talk to the lady. They easily entered the visitation area without incident. When they took one of the neat little booths, his stomach flip-flopped. Though it was something that they had been planning for a while, he was still amazed that it was actually happening. One more step in the process. Percy took his hand and offered a smile. The stitches were out, but he could still feel the ridges of her scars against his palm.

Sharing in the anxiety, Molly nervously writhed in her jacket, tugging at the sleeves and adjusting the hood as she took a seat on the stool. “This is it. This is it,” she kept muttering to herself. “This is it. We’re making history.” Shooting a nervous glance at the two, she gripped the papers in a quivering hand and the phone in the other.

When Martin Blyndeff sat on the other side of the plexiglass and picked up the phone, his eyes skirted between their faces for a moment, not afraid to hide his confusion. “Hm. Cop lady looks worse for wear. Who’s the scary lookin’ fella?”

Molly had an exasperated, but endeared smile. “Dad, cop lady has a name. And that’s Ramsey. You met him a few weeks ago.”

“Are you _sure_?” Martin gulped at Molly’s look. “Uh, um, yeah! Percy and Ramsey! Anyway, what brings you here today, buttercup?”

“We have something important to talk about today, dad,” she said, idly folding the corners of the papers. Molly swallowed, staring into the counter. “Well, it’s kinda difficult to say…”

“Are you getting bad grades?” he asked, leaning forward with a clueless squint.

“School doesn’t start until tomorrow, dad.”

The man gasped, throwing a hand over his gaping mouth. “Did you get a boyfriend?”

“Wha—no. It’s more important than that.” She laid the papers flat on the counter, meticulously smoothing them out until she was pleased that their preeminence was properly communicated. She glanced once more behind her, making a small smile at Percy’s nod. “Percy wants to adopt me.”

Martin took the papers when she slid them through the slot, scrutinizing them with furrowed brows. “I thought she already adopted you?”

Molly chuckled, shaking her head. “No, she fostered me. Adoption is different.”

He held the papers up to the light and thumbed through the packet. “How so? You’re living in her house, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but when she adopts me, I’ll live in her house for a lot longer. Like, until I’m grown up.”

Martin paused, his carefree smile dropping.

Molly bit her lip before continuing. “When she adopts me, the legal guardianship will be transferred from you to her.”

The phone slipped from his fingers a little. “Oh.”

“For that to happen, you need to sign these papers. We highlighted all the spaces in yellow for you.”

“Oh.”

“Will you do it? For me?”

Martin set the papers down and hunched over them, unable to hide the wavering glassiness in his eyes. His stare was blank. “So… if I sign this, I won’t be your parent anymore?”

“That’s right,” she said softly. Molly tilted her head to get a better look at his face, offering a small smile. “But you’ll still be my dad.”

The tip of his pen pressed against the surface of the paper without making a mark. Martin tapped it a few times in a silent battle with himself.

Ramsey held his breath, giving Percy’s hand a squeeze.

Finally, the man glanced up with a look of pure desperation. “Look, buttercup, I know I haven’t been the best dad, but—”

“I know that.” She scrubbed at her cheek with a sleeve. “I know you haven’t been the best dad and I don’t hate you for it. I’m just sad that things couldn’t have been better. But we can _make_ things better.” Molly sat up as tall as she could. “Dad, I found a new life and new people that I love, and I feel validated and accepted for the first time since mom died. I know that you’ve struggled as much as I have, but I really think this is the best way to move forward.”

“So you think cutting things off is the best way?” he asked, rapidly blinking away tears. “I don’t know if I can handle losing another one of my girls.”

“But it’s not the end for us, dad,” Molly said, pressing her hand against the glass. “I’ve found my place and it’s with Percy and Ramsey. I know that you haven’t really been yourself since mom died, so it’s safer if you can figure yourself out without responsibility over a kid. I think it’s really gonna help both of us if you give it a chance.”

Martin’s lip trembled. He looked like a vulnerable child on that stool. For a long moment, he stared at his daughter. Finally, he pressed his hand against the glass over hers. “Alright. For you, buttercup.” He scrawled a loopy signature in each designated space without reading any of it. When he passed it through the slot, he gave a timid chuckle. “You’ll still remember to visit your dear ol’ dad, won’t you?”

“Of course, dad,” she said, taking the packet and smiling brightly. “Looks like our time is up, but I’ll come back next week.”

“Catch you later, buttercup!”

“Sure thing, dad.”

With that, Martin toddled away. And Molly was officially Percy’s daughter. And kinda sorta Ramsey’s too. Well, not quite yet. Technicalities. He never imagined this was where he’d end up. Maybe miracles really did happen, and he just happened to be in the lucky minority to experience them. Very lucky. He wondered if he deserved it. “Wow,” he said under his breath. Percy didn’t seem to have heard that, but from the way she gazed at Molly and flapped her free hand, she shared the sentiment.

Ramsey had to step back to give Molly room to leap off the stool, all energetic and fired up. “You guys! That was it!” she said, pumping her fist. “We made history!”

“A major milestone in our personal history, yes,” Percy said, taking the packet of paperwork. She looked it over, a mix of delight and relief glowing in her eyes. “How are you feeling?”

The girl paused for a moment, staring after the door where Martin disappeared. “It’s… nice. I feel like we can start over. This time, we can just start out as being friends instead of pretending to be family. Maybe we can reach that point again one day.” She turned around with a happy little hop, replacing the mistiness in her eyes with elation. Molly practically danced out of the room, leaving Ramsey and Percy to catch up. Her theatrics were quite humorous to watch. “Now there’s just one last step!”

“Yes, although I’m not looking forward to spending the day in court,” Percy mused.

“No, not that!”

What else? “But we gotta go to court for the official adoption,” Ramsey said, tapping her shoulder with his knuckles.

Molly spun in a little circle as they left the prison, sending her skirt whirling. “But that’s, like, pretty much done. We just have to show up. I’m talking about you guys!”

Ramsey and Percy froze, sharing a look. Was the look scared, exhilarated? A little bit of everything? Well, euphoric for sure. Definitely euphoric.

Percy squinted at nothing in the distance. “Hm. I still need to call my parents to tell them… Maybe I’ll shoot them a call tonight… Or tomorrow…”

“Why’d you plan your wedding _aaaaaall_ the way in February?” Molly asked. She flopped in the backseat of the cruiser like a ragdoll. “That’s _foreeeeever_ away!”

Personally, Ramsey was grateful they set it that far in the future. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea that _he_ , of all people, would end up married to _Percy_ , of all people. The thought made his heart start to pump a little harder. “You gotta get all your ducks in a row before you do stuff like that, kiddo,” Ramsey said, shrugging off the question. Ow.

“What ducks are there?” she groaned.

Percy started the car and with it, distant classic rock seeped from the speakers. “Finances, leases, tax withholdings, emotional preparedness, working out the partnership, allocating responsibilities,” she offered, “not to mention planning the event itself. Thank goodness for Meryl. There are a surprising amount of ducks.” No kidding.

“Quack. Adult life must suck.”

It was difficult to put his seatbelt on with one arm, so Percy reached over to help. “It does,” Ramsey admitted, “but I’d say it’s a lot better when you get to hang out with two beautiful girls.”

Percy chuckled. “You’re too cute, Ramsey.”

“Pff. Ridiculous.”

“Aw, you guys!” Molly laughed. “Now I know why Meryl always says you just gotta get hitched already!”

“Don’t you worry, kiddo,” Ramsey said, flashing a grin and a solidary finger gun. “It’ll be here before ya know it.”

***

Forever Later

***

It was here. Oh man. Percy stared deeply at the shapes in the texture of the ceiling. Like stargazing, but lame. She had been too jittery to sleep, so instead she paced the room until midnight, then she flopped on the bed and pretended to sleep until her alarm went off. She might have dozed off a few times, but she wasn’t sure.

Beside her, Ramsey was curled up and nervously rubbing the blankets. The lease on his apartment ended a few weeks earlier, so he had moved in with them then. He ended up bringing more art supplies than clothing. Heck, he didn’t even own a pair of jeans. Pretty much just shorts and t-shirts and that one random pair of slacks with a dress shirt.

“Hey, Percy? Did you get any sleep at all?” he whispered.

“No. You?”

“Hardly.”

“We’re getting married today.” She couldn’t stave off a happy little squeal.

He grinned at her, but not his usual lazy one. An exuberant one. “We’re getting married. Crazy.”

“Are you ready?”

“You’d think. But ready or not, it’s happening, I guess.”

“I feel the same way. But I’m excited. It’ll be fun.”

“Heck yeah.”

Her stomach felt all gooey and she gave Ramsey an excited little shake in hopes that would communicate all the _things_ she was feeling. “I hope Meryl knows what she’s doing because I don’t. I’ve only been to, perhaps, two weddings in my life.”

“I haven’t been to any.”

“That means this will be the best one you’ve been to.”

Ramsey snickered, rolling over to wrap her in a warm hug. “You dork. It would’ve been the best one anyway!”

Percy held him close. She wondered if he could feel the pure energy pulsing through her, although that would be impossible since it only existed in the fabrications of her mind. But it felt like she was sparking with electricity. “There’s going to be a lot of people. Well, not really, but it will push the limits of my social threshold.”

“I’m scared. You have, like, three trillion cousins.” He shuddered, his grip tightening slightly.

“Only 73.”

“Only?”

She shrugged, glad that most of them lived _very_ far away. Yes, she knew how many there were, but she had difficulty remembering some of their names. And faces. There were a lot. “Not all of them could make it, anyway, so there will only be 27, if I remember correctly.”

“ _Only_?”

“Don’t worry. They’re all fairly nice. And they’re the ones I know pretty well.”

“I’m scared.”

“I'm scared too. Am I going to cry?”

He flashed a teasing grin. “Are you?”

Percy patted her cheeks, already feeling mushy. “I don’t know. I’ll probably get all emotional but I hate being emotional.”

“Me too. That means we were made for each other.”

“You’re too cute.”

“Ridiculous.”

“Can I kiss you?”

“Please do.”

When she pressed her lips to his, the nervousness began to drain away. The two weddings she had been to had made her horribly anxious since such events were so far out of her comfort zone, but then again, she wasn’t an insecure child anymore. This time, she felt so much more confident, especially when she was surrounded with people she loved dearly and who loved her back. Especially the man she was kissing. She could feel her heart beating against his.

“I guess we should probably get ready or something,” Ramsey said, sitting up. The movement made him wince a little.

Percy mirrored the motion, flinching herself. Everytime she noticed his discomfort, she could feel the phantom pain. “How’s your shoulder?”

“Feelin’ alright, but not the same. How’s, like, the entire upper half of your body?” He gently touched her ear, which had been healing decently, but still looked split.

It didn’t bother her as much as it used to, but it was still tender. She put her hand over his. “Alright. I mean, now I look as cool as you.”

“You’re too sweet.” He kissed her cheek before hopping out of bed. “How’d I get so lucky?”

“I could ask the same,” she said with a grin, following him. She couldn’t stop stimming. There was a big day ahead.

***

“You look stunning.”

“So do you.”

“Wha—no. I look normal. Look in the mirror.”

“But Meryl—”

“Perc’, I swear.”

“ _Oh_.” Percy finally understood what Meryl meant when the ginger turned her to look in the mirror. Oh. Oh wow.

“You look like a beautiful princess, mom!” Molly said in absolute awe. She smoothed down her own dress and proudly stood beside Percy.

Percy took the girl’s hand. Her _daughter’s_ hand. “You look like a beautiful princess as well.” They shared a smile.

“Oh, I can’t believe my little baby’s getting married!” her mother sobbed, making Percy jump a little. The woman had already gone through a box of tissues and no one was even married yet. “And she didn’t even tell us until after Christmas!” Yes, Percy remembered that call well. After all the procrastination, she probably deserved the nuclear warfare on her ears.

She twisted back and forth slightly, sending the dress whirling in creamy waves. Simple and elegant. “Well, suspend your disbelief, mother, because I am to be wed.” Percy had never really felt gorgeous before. Not that she felt bad about it, it’s just that she was never very feminine. Sometimes, people even mistook her for a boy, but now in a satiny white gown… She could confidently say that she felt gorgeous, even if far removed from herself. In fact, she might have been getting a little teary-eyed. NOPE. She was NOT going to cry. She swallowed it back, electing to grin like an idiot instead.

Meryl had a knowing look. “You see? Stunning.” She looked lovely as well in her heels and a sleeveless dress. It was strange to see her without her signature long-sleeved coat, but she said that she was feeling confident, especially for such a special occasion. Not to mention that she and Percy would match, after all.

Percy looked down to her scarred arms. Although they were healing well enough, she would probably have them for her entire life. She thought it made her quite distinctive, though. No good cop left the force without a few battle scars, anyway. She almost found it too bad that her uniform had long sleeves and gloves.

“Anyway, I suppose that guests are starting to arrive…” Percy muttered, brushing her hair back from her face. “I guess I should greet them or something.”

“Yeah! I wanna see Giovanni and Fred!” Molly squealed. She ran to the door that led to the rest of the venue, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“Just make sure to keep them away from Eros, yeah?” Meryl called.

“Aye aye!” She bolted from the room. From the moment she woke up, that girl had been filled to the brim with energy.

Percy felt much better about letting Molly hang out with the boys now that she had solemnly sworn to not participate in any crime-related activities at all. Some might have called Percy ignorant since the same promise had been broken before, but she knew for sure that she could trust her daughter. They had reached a new understanding, after all.

“Wait ‘till your father sees you!” her mother said, holding back her tears with great difficulty. “I’ll go find him!” With that, she hurried out of the room in a similar fashion to Molly. Oh boy, her father.

Meryl flashed a sly smile. “Wait ‘till Ramsey sees you.”

She wanted to see him too. But her stomach felt like a mix of water and oil. Bubbling and sinking and rising. It fell quiet.

“You’re nervous, aren’t you?”

Percy paused and turned back to her friend. “Is it that obvious?”

With a shrug, Meryl came to her side, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders. “I’m anxious, too, about all the people that will be here, but it’s easy for me because I know all the attention will be on you!” She gave her a teasing nudge. “But it’s alright. A lot of people feel nervous on their wedding day.”

Percy rapidly patted her thighs and rocked. She just couldn’t stop moving. “I guess so, but I want to know why I feel nervous. It’s causing me significant distress.”

Thinking for a moment, Meryl pulled her Canadian dollar from her pocket and idly flipped it between her fingers. “Well, there are lots of things happening, for one. You’re about to make a huge commitment to someone.”

True, but Percy wasn’t sure that was necessarily the source of her unease. She didn’t want it to come across the wrong way. Yes, it was all frightening, but she knew with certainty that she would never once regret this decision. However, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was… right for this. “But I do love him and I already feel committed.”

“I don’t doubt that, but it may be a part of why you’re so nervous,” Meryl offered. “Maybe you think you won’t be able to rise to the challenge. Or that you weren’t made for this.”

Percy’s lungs tightened. There it was. She couldn’t say she was surprised, especially since those thoughts had dulled her since childhood before she had even met Ramsey. How on earth could an autistic asexual ever hope to end up married? She had always been so distant and aloof, but now her life was different and _she_ was different, but the doubts always had a way of creeping back. She had hoped the pounding in the back of her mind would remain quiet for the day, but it only seemed to grow louder. Saying it felt like dropping an anchor. “I do feel like I wasn’t made for this.”

“Ah, but that’s the thing,” Meryl said, turning her to face the mirror once again. “If you weren’t made for this, then how’d you reach this point? That’s got to mean something.” She pulled her in a hug. “I mean, you’ve had a successful relationship for this long. That isn’t nothing.”

Percy loosened up and leaned closer to her friend, staring into the mirror. It felt like peering into an alternate world rather than looking at herself _._ “That’s another thing.” she sighed. Apparently her mind was in a pessimistic place. ”We’ve known each other for about a year. Other people only get married after knowing each other for several years. Don’t get me wrong, I do want this and I feel ready, but what if I’m more naive than I realize?”

Meryl smiled kindly, giving her shoulders a squeeze. “That’s fine. Other people do what works for them. But you’re more mature than a lot of younger newly-weds and you already have a daughter. Maybe this isn’t the right step for other people, but it’s the right step for your family.” She peered into Percy’s face. “I have full faith in you.”

Percy hugged her back, offering a small smile. “Thanks, Meryl.” It would be alright.

She was enough.

***

“Woah, man. You’re getting married.”

“Oh really? Gee willikers, I had no idea.” Ramsey snickered and dodged the punch that Giovanni threw.

“Can’t you just let me get caught up in the drama of the moment?” Giovanni wailed in mock distress. “I feel like I’m giving away the hand of my eldest child in marriage!”

“But I’m older than you.”

Giovanni placed his hands on Ramsey’s shoulders, staring deeply into his eyes. “My son.”

“No.” He tried. He really did. But Ramsey couldn’t keep a straight face for long.

Choking back laughter, Giovanni casually leaned against the wall and tried to play it cool in front of Percy’s copious amounts of cousins. Ramsey was glad that the King family mostly talked amongst themselves. He barely knew Percy’s dang parents, let alone the extended family. Oh geez, that was about to become _his_ family too. Ack.

“So. How ya feelin’ about this whole thing?” Giovanni asked, casually observing the front room of the venue. The place was pretty dang cool and Percy went on an info-dumping spree about the architecture and decor when they went to check it out. Both Ramsey and Molly found it adorable.

He leaned further into the wall, if that was possible. “Holy crap.”

“My, you always astound me with how incredibly eloquent you are. Do you write poetry?”

“Pff, shut up.”

“Okay, in all seriousness, how are you feeling?” Giovanni gave him a look that made him shutter. “You’ve been seeming really anxious lately. You don’t talk much anymore on our late-night Discord adventures.”

Oh. Ramsey stared at him for a moment, not really sure of what to say. He noticed? “Uh…”

Shrugging, Giovanni glanced back to the floor. “I dunno. Since you told me you have anxiety, I’ve been trying to pay more attention. Sorry if that’s, like, weird or something.”

“No, I’m… just… thanks.” Ramsey chewed on his cheek in silence. Certainly not what he was expecting, but nice. He sighed, trying to isolate the words to describe the acrobatics his heart was performing. “This is terrifying.”

Giovanni scanned the room, which was filling up quickly. “Is it the endless waves of in-laws? The commitment?”

“No and definitely no.”

“You’re gonna say something crazy like ‘I’m not good enough’ when you’re clearly the most beautiful gerbil man to grace the earth.”

Ramsey nodded slightly, not feeling up to saying it out loud.

Releasing a stream of air, Giovanni looked back at him. “You know, we often feel the least amount of confidence in ourselves right when we’re about to make the greatest choices.”

“So philosophical.”

“We think to ourselves, ‘How will I make the jump if I don’t have any legs?’”

“What?”

“So tell me, Rams, what is the jump?”

Cripes. The cold pit in Ramsey’s stomach grew massively darker. “I’m getting married and I’m going to have a family with a kid to look after.”

“Now, why don’t you have any legs?”

Listing it out made him feel worse. It hurt to say it. “I come from a dysfunctional family, I’ve spent my whole life living as a lone wolf, and I have an impressive criminal record. And then there’s the emotional baggage and anxiety. Need I say more?”

“How are you going to jump?”

“I don’t know.”

“You _want_ to jump, don’t you?”

“I want to jump.”

“Ramsey, how are you going to jump?” Giovanni gave him a nudge and a kind smile, but there was a challenging spark in his coppery eyes. “C’mon, I know you’re the creative type.”

“I’m going to…”

“C’mon, something awesome.”

“Ride a motorcycle to make the jump.”

“Hell yeah, brother!” Giovanni said, pumping his fist. “What’s the motorcycle?” When Ramsey didn’t respond at first, Giovanni leaned in to whisper. “Loading screen tip: it’s made of nice things about yourself.”

“Oh. Um…” He always thought his self-esteem was doing okay, but in the moment, he couldn’t really think of anything. “I can… make good mac’n’cheese.”

“I can attest to that. Anything else?”

“I can draw, too.” From the kid’s continual silence, Ramsey realized he had to say more. “Uh, and I’m nice sometimes.”

“Okay… good start.” Giovanni pushed some of his pink hair behind his ears, with a small, underwhelmed sigh. “Your homework is to write nice things about yourself. Here, I have gay sticky notes.” He pulled out a pad of sticky notes, each with a pastel rainbow printed on it, and a box of crayons that he probably borrowed from Ramsey’s apartment at some point. Why the kid always carried around random office supplies would remain a mystery. Duct tape, screwdrivers, gay sticky notes, you name it.

Ramsey took a sheet and stuck it in his pocket for later, almost disgusted at the thought of being nice to himself. “Homework? On my wedding day?”

“My son. You’re homeschooled.”

Okay, Giovanni won this round. Ramsey laughed, if not at the kid’s off-the-wall worldview, then at the fact that he didn’t feel as weighed down as he did.

Giovanni snickered, a puff of steam rolling from his mouth. “Thanks for humoring me by putting up with my dumb antics.” He nodded just over Ramsey’s shoulder. “You better mount up on that motorcycle because this is your ride or die moment. Let me tell you, you were born to ride. Now turn around.”

“If you wrote ‘kick me’ on one of your sticky notes—”

“No, seriously, turn around.”

Ramsey rolled his eyes and did it anyway. Then his heart stopped. Percy shyly waved at him, looking absolutely gorgeous in her wedding dress.

***

Percy’s face was probably going pink. She could feel the ferocious heat in her cheeks. “H-hi,” she said, which came out somewhere between a stutter and a laugh.

Ramsey just stared at her wide-eyed until Giovanni gave him a shove. He took a few numb steps before snapping into the real world and sauntering over. “Percy. Damn. You look brilliant.”

She laughed as he wrapped his arms around her. “And you look very handsome!” she said, straightening his tie.

He melted into her arms a little. “Heh, thanks!”

“Aren’t my parents just adorable? Tell me, Freddy. Aren’t they?” Molly had just run up with Fred in tow, mouth spread in a wide beam.

Running a hand through his curls, Fred nodded vigorously. “Yup! For sure!”

Augh, so much attention. And then the masses of her cousins came by, with salutations and felicitations. However, the awkwardness soon passed with each smiling face. And it helped that Meryl took some of the attention away by starting to seat people for the ceremony. Good Lord, they were about to be married.

“Groom! Over here!” Meryl called.

“Oh, okay,” Ramsey called back, pulling away from Percy. He glanced back with a grin. “See ya in, like, a few minutes, I guess, my betrothed.”

Percy flapped her hands excitedly. “You dork.”

“You cool with a dork for a husband?”

“Of course!”

Rolling her eyes, Meryl grabbed Ramsey’s arm and dragged him away. “C’mon, Romeo.”

“But Romeo died and it sucked,” Ramsey said as they disappeared in the main room.

As the guests began to filter away, Molly took Percy’s hand. “Are you ready, mom?” she asked, peering up with emerald eyes.

Percy gave her hand a squeeze. “Yes.”

“Thanks.” Before Percy could ask what for, her daughter had already ran off with Giovanni and Fred, ducking into the room without attracting the attention of Eros, who was looking dapper in a hot pink tie and suspected nothing.

Heavy footsteps approached her. “Yeah, are you ready?”

Percy turned to see her father offering his elbow. His beard was neatly trimmed for the occasion and he had a kinder look in his eyes than usual. She hesitated for a moment. It was strange, or perhaps unfamiliar. She had spent so much of her life building up resentment against him and purposefully distancing herself from him, but now… “Yes,” she said as she took his arm. They weren’t exactly close, but they had been coming closer over the past months. He had been excited to meet Molly and had been very helpful with planning the wedding.

Her father seemed to sense her slight apprehension. “Look, I know that we haven’t exactly, er, agreed on a lot of things,” he said quietly, “but I’m glad that you’re letting me walk you down the aisle. I’m happy for you.”

Percy took a deep breath and looked into his face. It wasn’t often that she did that. “I’m glad that you’re here. Thank you.”

He huffed a chuckle in his own burly way. Percy couldn’t help but think back to Molly and her own father. Perhaps they had a rocky relationship, but it was nice to open up to being friends again. They walked through the doors and he leaned over to whisper, “This is it, princess. Good luck.”

The room was beautiful. High ceilings, large windows, nice chairs. It set her architect’s mind whirling. And at the front of it stood Ramsey, who was rocking slightly, and Meryl, with a bright smile. Meryl was particularly enthused because she got to be the officiant and joked about having the power in her hands. And sweet Ramsey. Percy understood how skittish he was. But he smiled when she stood in front of him and took his hands, which were shaking a little.

Meryl took a couple deep breaths, probably pumping herself up enough to speak in front of a large group of people. She brushed her bangs out of her face and straightened with an air of confidence. “We are gathered here today…”

As Meryl went through the words of welcome, Percy gave his hands a little squeeze. Ramsey squeezed back. She almost couldn’t believe that she was loved and that she loved someone back so much. He seemed mildly anxious, but really happy. She felt so strongly passionate for him.

She noticed after a moment that Ramsey was holding back a laugh. Percy bit her lip to do the same. Her mother was already sobbing loudly as her father handed her another tissue box. Funnily enough, Eros was the type to cry at weddings as well. His boyfriend, James, gently patted his back as the sergeant wiped away his tears, not even trying to hide it.

“Do you, Percy, take Ramsey as your husband and promise to love, cherish, and respect him for the rest of your life?”

Oh, there were the tears. She knew she’d get emotional. “I do,” Percy said shakily. She gave a small, appreciative laugh when Ramsey carefully wiped the tears from her cheeks. From the front row, Molly flashed a double thumbs up.

“Hey, it’s okay, doll,” he whispered.

Percy nodded with an unbreakable smile.

“Do you, Ramsey, take Percy as your wife and promise to love, cherish, and respect her for the rest of your life?” Meryl continued.

“I do,” Ramsey said. It was clear that he couldn’t stop grinning. He slipped the ring on her finger, a sleek band with a flat diamond. She did the same and gave him his ring, gold of course. Ramsey had known exactly where to get them for the right price, and it was even completely legal.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” Meryl declared. “You may kiss the bride.”

Ramsey cupped her cheeks and pressed his lips to hers. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Percy pulled him closer. She almost couldn’t believe that she had made it.

They made it together.

***

A reception with both garlic bread and cake was perfect as far as Ramsey was concerned, but there was just a lot happening. With the chaos of such a great number of people engaged in energetic conversation, he finally found an opportunity to slip away, which was almost impossible to accomplish stealthily. Sure, he really was happy and having fun, but it was getting a tad overwhelming.

It was awkward enough when Percy’s parents asked where his family was, so he said something along the lines of “they couldn’t make it.” Definitely true, considering they were in wooden onesies. Later on, he almost made it more awkward by telling the Operation Mid-ass story, but he caught himself before he had the chance to scare all the in-laws with his extensively illegal stunts. Hm, he’d have to tell Molly the story sometime. Seriously, the dude had a great ass.

Stepping silently through the door, he gently shut it behind him and leaned against the wall. He just needed a few deep breaths to recharge. Maybe a few more. But he couldn’t stay still. Instead, Ramsey paced through the dim hallway, wandering around until he found himself in some desolate corner of the building. Geez, why wouldn’t his heart stop pounding? Eventually, he came to a standstill at a window. The frigidity of the outside bit at his cheek as he pressed it against the glass. It was getting dark already, although time was only just passing into the evening hours. Glittery flakes of snow fell softly as if trying to hide from the eyes of the world. It was stained pink, orange, and yellow by some of the lights from the building. Beyond that, it all darkened into an oppressive azure and a mist of buildings.

He fiddled with the ring on his finger, twisting it around and around. Crazy. Absolutely insane. His breathing became unsteady. Dammit. Just a few more deep breaths— _dammit._

Footsteps coming down the hall made Ramsey clamp his teeth on his cheek just to get it together. He didn’t have to look up to know who it was, but he did anyway ‘cause she was pretty.

“H-hey, doll,” he stammered. “What’s up?” He didn’t like the way his voice wavered.

Percy had a knowing smile as she stood beside him. A real soft one. “My social battery is running low, and from the looks of it, yours is as well.”

“Yeah.”

He didn’t realize how much he was wringing his hands until Percy took them in hers. “You seem really anxious.”

“Yeah.”

She paused to gaze out the window. In the lighting, her hair took on an almost pinkish hue to match the snow. “Would you like to take a moment to talk?”

“Oh, I dunno. I’m just really depressing.”

“If you think that you’re becoming an emotional burden, just know that you’re not.”

He stopped chewing his cheek. She had gotten extremely good at getting right at the core, like she knew him inside and out. It almost scared him that he couldn’t hide things from her anymore, but it was also freeing that he could be fully authentic with someone. He loved her so much. “I dunno. I don’t really know how to explain. I just—” He had to drag the words out, and they didn’t come too smoothly. “I don’t know how the hell I ever thought I could do this.”

Holding his cheeks, she stepped a little closer with direct, unbreaking eye contact. She always struggled with eye contact, so when she made the effort, he knew it was serious. Her eyes were so gorgeous. “I know how much you struggle with feelings of inadequacy, but know that you’re not alone. I didn’t marry you to meet some standard. I married you because I love _you_ for who you are.”

“Ah geez…” He chuckled uneasily, glancing out the window again. Apparently, it took a long time for the sentiment to get through his thick skull because there always had to be _something_ to make him doubt everything. “Sometimes, I just wonder if I’m not the right guy.”

She laughed. “But you’re the _only_ guy for me. Just remember that we’re in this together. We’ve already been through a lot, so I know that whatever happens, we can figure it out with each other.”

Ramsey looked back at her. His heart rate began to sink back into a comfortable rhythm. “Thanks, Percy. Guess it takes a while for that to sink in.”

“I’m patient. And if it helps, I’ve been feeling the same way. Scared that I’m broken, I suppose.” Percy hugged him tightly, resting her cheek on his shoulder and rubbing circles into his back.

He closed his eyes and kissed her hair, feeling much less tense. “You’re anything but,” he murmured. “I’m pretty sure you saved me, Percy.”

“And I don’t know who I would be without you.” They held each other close and kept stock still, as if they were trying to listen to the snow fall.

Rapid taps indicated the presence of an ecstatic Molly running down the hall. “Mom! Dad!” she called. “You guys can’t just sneak off!” She collided with them in a vehement hug. Ramsey grinned and had to lean against the wall to catch his balance. If anyone could lighten his mood, it was that precious girl. “Are the newly-weds doing alright?”

Percy gave her a sweet look. “A little overwhelmed, but yes. Alright.”

“I was a bit worried,” Molly said, looking up at them with knit brows. “You guys got really quiet tonight. That must mean you’re getting tired of people.”

Ramsey shrugged. “Eh, it’s just demanding, ya know.”

She nestled into them. “Well, even though it’s stressful… thanks.”

“For what?” Percy asked, cocking her head.

A timid smile crossed Molly’s face and her eyes became glossy. “For being my family.”

That struck Ramsey right in the heart. It really meant a lot to him as well, especially considering where he used to be. “Thanks for being my family, too.”

“I love both of you very much,” Percy said tenderly.

Geez, the emotions were getting to him. Had to take a breath. “Shall we? I’ll bet that people have already noticed we’re gone. Hard to slip away from your own wedding.”

“Yeah! There’s still more cake!” Molly announced.

Percy beamed, holding them all close together. “Just remember not to have too much or you’ll be hyper the rest of the evening!”

“Sure thing, mom!” Molly said before breaking away and dashing down the hall.

Percy held Ramsey for a moment longer before taking his hand and following their daughter.

And for the first time in a long time, he felt complete. It was these moments that he lived for.

and some drawings for your viewing pleasure i guess :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: some feels and heavy stuff i guess, sorry if it gets weird and depressing and totally ruins the happy ending, don’t read if you don’t want
> 
> Thanks for reading my passion project! When I first sat down to write this, I never imagined that it would turn out to be this long and that people would actually like it. I’ve literally been brought to tears reading comments! Seeing people enjoy something that I created and poured a bit of my soul into made me feel like I’m actually worth something and like I have the ability to make other people happy. This is definitely my favorite thing I’ve done. Epithet Erased is so awesome and I love all of Brendan Blaber’s work. He’s such an inspiration to me and actually has given me real motivation to go for creative pursuits.
> 
> I’m kind of at a sucky point in my life right now, as many people experience. I’m about to leave on a religious mission, but I’m starting to question the role of religion in my life. It’s strange being asexual in a religious culture that’s based arround marriage and family, and in one that invalidates my friends that are transgender, nonbinary, and bisexual. I’m even starting to question my own identity regarding gender and romantic orientation, although my family would never accept me as anything but cishet. I feel like I’m at a crossroads: my family and religion or a life of acceptance and freedom for myself? I’m struggling to determine which route has the more costly toll. I’m sorta stuck on an identity crisis tipping point.
> 
> There’s a lot of discord in my mind because I was raised in this religion and I think I believe in a God that loves everyone, but I don’t know if I can be a part of a religion that says “love one another as Jesus did” but then accuses queer people of being sins against nature. There’s always a battle between what I’ve been raised to believe and with what I’ve come to believe for myself. I’m always wondering: _am I good, am I a sinner, is it the autism and anxiety, am I just depressed and rebellious, what’s wrong with me?_ It doesn’t help that my parents held a family council a while back to tell me that I’m a failure. A few months ago, I thought this mission was what I wanted, but now I don’t know how the hell I ever thought I could do this. I’m scared that I’ll lose myself, my friends, and my passion for writing, but it’s kinda too late to turn back unless worst comes to worst. There’s a lot of pressure on me from my family and church and I’ve already put off college for a year and a half to serve this mission.
> 
> I’ve never been so stressed, anxious, and terrified and I feel like I’ve lost control over my life, but writing this and reading your feedback helps me get out of bed in the morning. You glorious internet people have given me the confidence to keep going despite all the unknown variables I face right now. I feel like I’m about to sign my life away, but hey, if I can pass along the feeling of being valued by helping people and telling them there’s a God that loves them, then I’ll consider it worth it.
> 
> I’m sure that a lot of you are struggling through the rapids of life too, so I wish you the best and hope that you can remember that even in your darkest hours, you’re always worth something. Living is certainly never easy, but I’ve usually found that suffering doesn’t last forever. There’s always happiness out there, so there’s a good chance we’ll all feel it again.
> 
> I’m not really sure what I’ve accomplished by telling you all this. I suppose this is an outlet I feel that I can speak openly on. Sorry if I’m, like, dumping all my problems on you guys. I guess this is a letter to you, the reader. Thanks for changing the way I see myself and the world. I’ll probably treasure this experience for the rest of my life and thanks for riding along with me.
> 
> One last thing: will there be more?  
> I want there to be more so dang bad. ("Non-Stop" from _Hamilton_ is my anthem!) I love writing this and I hope to keep developing my writing abilities. The thing is, mission rules are strict, yet vague, so I don’t know if I’ll have access to AO3. But I do know that I will have access to Google Docs, although I have no idea how much free time I’ll have for writing. Even though I’ve spent a lot of time stressing over this whole thing, I’m trying to have a positive outlook. By the time I get off my mission, there might be a season two of EE to write about and maybe I’ll have grown as a person and as a writer. Or maybe I’ll do something crazy and apostatize from the church and get off my mission early and disappoint my family, but I’ll finally be free to be myself and write all the time again. Who knows? My own indecisiveness and confusion is killin me, but I’ll figure things out eventually. I feel like my brain is going off the rails and I can’t guarantee anything, but there’s one thing for sure: I’m not going to mark the series as complete. Not yet.


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